Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Question

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for levelling up.

Dehenna Davison: Levelling up underpins this Government’s ambitions. My department alone has allocated over £9.9 billion from levelling up funds since 2019 and over £11 billion in long-term flexible investment funds for Mayoral Combined Authorities and areas with recently-agreed devolution deals. Across government, we are investing in urban transport, spending millions on local bus services; refocusing cultural and R&D spend outside London; successfully recruiting 20,000 police; establishing over 100 Community Diagnostic Centres; and much more.

Tees Valley Combined Authority: Public Appointments

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the terms of reference of the panel to be appointed to review the Tees Valley Combined Authority's oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks joint venture.

Lee Rowley: Further to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS813) of 25 May, details will be set out in due course.

Buildings: Insulation

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) future costs incurred by cladding remedial work are not passed onto leaseholders and (b) freeholders meet their legal responsibilities to fund remedial work as stipulated in the Building Safety Act 2022.

Lee Rowley: Last year 49 of the largest housebuilders signed a public pledge committing to fix life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings 11 metres or more in height which they developed or refurbished in England over the last 30 years. 48 developers have since signed the developer remediation contract giving legal effect to those commitments. Where a developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible for remediating the building, or has not yet agreed to pay for their own buildings, the Building Safety Fund is available to ensure that eligible buildings over 18 metres are made safe. The Government has also launched a new scheme to provide funding for the remediation or mitigation of the fire safety risks linked to external wall system defects on medium-rise buildings (11-18 metres) where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible.The Building Safety Act protects leaseholders from costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects by capping or preventing altogether the costs that can be recovered through the service charge. Where work is not funded by a responsible developer or grant, the Act makes clear that any remediation costs which the Act prevents being passed on to leaseholders must be met by building owners. Any building owners who refuse to meet costs for which they are now liable under the Act are acting unlawfully.The Act grants new enforcement powers to regulatory bodies, the Secretary of State, and leaseholders, allowing them to compel building owners to fix, and pay to fix, unsafe buildings for which they are responsible. Enforcement action will be taken against those who are holding up remediation works, where appropriate.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy consultation which closed on 2 March 2023.

Rachel Maclean: We will set out a response in due course.

Members: Correspondence

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Enfield North of 11 May 2023 on the Renters Reform Bill.

Rachel Maclean: I responded to the Hon Member on 5 June 2023.

Question

Sara Britcliffe: To ask the secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of new homes on regenerated brownfield land.

Rachel Maclean: This government is committed to making the most of brownfield land. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements. We recognise that local authorities are best placed to assess the suitability of each site for redevelopment.

Question

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to help increase the number of homes built in England.

Rachel Maclean: We have announced £10 billion of investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament, with our interventions due to ultimately unlock over 1 million new homes.We are also investing £11.5 billion in the latest Affordable Homes Programme to provide tens of thousands of new homes across the country.Annual housing supply is up 10% compared to the previous year with over 232,000 net additional homes delivered in 2021/22. This is the third highest yearly rate for the last 30 years.

Question

Deidre Brock: To ask the secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the devolved Administrations on Investment Zones.

Dehenna Davison: Devolved Administrations will play an equal role in co-design, decision-making and overseeing the delivery of Investment Zones. Officials are jointly developing proposals for Ministers to agree in due course.The Secretary of State continues to engage regularly with DA Ministers through the Inter-ministerial Standing Committee, which last met on 14 May.

Cabinet Office

Question

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2022 to Question 59556, to which Ministers has the Prime Minister assigned use of the official residences at (a) 1 Carlton Gardens, (b) the three flats in Admiralty House, (c) the Dorneywood estate and (d) the Chevening estate.

Jeremy Quin: As has been the case under successive administrations, the Prime Minister allocates official residences to ministers, either on the grounds of security or to allow them to better perform their official duties. The following official residences are formally allocated to Ministers:Flats above 10 and 11 Downing Street, which are allocated to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively;Hillsborough Castle and Stormont which are available for Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland;1 Carlton Gardens, which is allocated to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities;The Chequers and Dorneywood estates are owned and managed by trustees and are available to Ministers for both official and private use and are allocated to the Prime Minister and Chancellor respectively; andThe Chevening estate is allocated to the Foreign Secretary; the Chevening Trust is however currently undertaking works to the building. Admiralty House is part of the Government estate and has rooms that are used as residential accommodation as required.

Government Departments: Apprentices

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report from the National Audit Office entitled Digital transformation in government: addressing the barriers to efficiency, published on 10 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) his policies and (b) digital transformation in Government of that report's finding of a reduction of 20 per cent in the number of digital, data and technology apprenticeships between October 2021 and December 202.

Alex Burghart: Government is committed to strengthening digital and technology specialist skills and has increased the number of recorded specialists by 10% since the establishment of the Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data. Individual departments are ultimately responsible for their own resourcing decisions and will have their own rationale for specific choices made. Additionally, apprenticeship headcounts will fluctuate over time linked to factors like the procurement of suppliers and the cohort based nature of apprenticeship recruitment. Apprentices are a core part of our thriving digital community, as are graduates and interns, and we are committed to ensuring that the trend in reduction of apprentices is reversed. Indeed, since the report was published, the number of recorded apprentices has increased by 6.2%. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) are currently working with departments and commercial teams to address some of the barriers to fully utilising apprentice levy’s in government, including through increasing supplier choice.

Cabinet Office: Archives

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185568 on Mining: Industrial Disputes, whether he plans to take steps to change the record keeping practices of his Department to help improve (a) accessibility and (b) preservation of historical documents.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185568 on Mining: Industrial Disputes, when his Department last made an assessment of whether retained documents relating to the miners’ strike should be place into the public domain.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185568 on Mining: Industrial Disputes, whether his Department plans to create a register of retained documents to help improve responses to requests for information.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185568 on Mining: Industrial Disputes, whether his Department maintains a record of the reasons for which they have not disclosed documents under the thirty-year rule.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185568 on Mining: Industrial Disputes, if he will take steps to (a) publish all documents relating to the miners strike and (b) place those documents in the national archive.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office is committed to complying with the Public Records Act 1958 and has released records to The National Archives (TNA) up to 2002. Records listed on TNA’s online catalogue Discovery include details to reflect exemptions, if they have been applied, to closed or retained records. If paper files that are open at TNA contain minor redactions, details to reflect exemptions being applied are included on a Dummy Card, which replaces the closed or retained extracts within the record. A process is in place to re-review closed and retained records at the 10-year point or when the agreed closure or retention period is about to expire. The most recent Information Management Assessment published by The National Archives (https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/cabinet-office-ima-reassessment-report.pdf) gave the Cabinet Office an assurance rating of Green. There are no plans to change the record keeping practices of the Department.

Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, who is the budget holder for cross-government photography services.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, how the budget for cross-government photography services is accounted for.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience. The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

Cabinet Office: ICT

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) minimum durability standards are and (b) average replacement frequency is for (i) computers and (ii) laptops in each Department; and if he will publish each Department's policy on replacing computer and information technology equipment.

Alex Burghart: The Central Digital and Data Office have advised that it is for each department to make decisions individually. The Cabinet Office, like all Government departments and employers, needs to provide modern equipment to its staff to ensure that they can work efficiently, effectively and securely. As laptops/computers age they will become slower, due to upgrades to the operating systems (e.g. Microsoft Windows) and more complex software, which will reduce the efficiency of those using them. The operating systems will also eventually become out of date and the vendors will not supply security patches, thereby making them obsolete (due to being insecure). There are no fixed timelines to these changes. We therefore have to assess on a regular basis to determine whether change is needed.

Veterans: Homelessness

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that homeless veterans can access accommodation through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme in all regions.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many homeless veterans have secured accommodation through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme in each region.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has published recent guidance for veterans seeking support through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme.

Johnny Mercer: This Government is working towards ending veteran homelessness this year, with £8.55m in funding for specialist help for former armed forces personnel in more than 900 veteran supported housing units, and a referral pathway. The Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme, which aims to address veterans homelessness and rough sleeping through the provision of specialist services, such as mental health or employment support, was launched in April. This programme was open to veteran supported housing providers across the UK until 22 May and applications will be assessed by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. Successful organisations are expected to start their projects in September 2023, and will be supplemented by Op FORTITUDE, the new referral pathway for veterans experiencing or facing homelessness.

Prime Minister

National Security

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral contribution of 2 November 2022, Official Report ,column 861, what the evidential basis was for his statement that Labour was committed to abolishing the armed forces, scrapping the nuclear deterrent, withdrawing from NATO. and befriending Hamas and Hezbollah.

Rishi Sunak: The Prime Minister has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dehenna Davison

Andy McDonald: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will seek the advice of the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests on the conduct of the honourable Member for Bishop Auckland.

Rishi Sunak: No. I refer the hon. Member to the letter to him from the DLUHC Permanent Secretary on this issue. More broadly, on the issue of Teesworks, I would also refer him to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 May 2023 (HCWS813).

Housing: Construction

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 October 2022, Official Report, column 297, what the evidential basis was for his statement that a record number of new homes had been built in the previous year.

Rishi Sunak: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 November 2022, Official Report, PQ77552. The latest figures show that 2.3 million more homes have been delivered across England since 2010.

Department of Health and Social Care

Nurses: Training

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 26 October 2022, Official Report, column 295, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the Government has reintroduced the nurses' bursary.

Will Quince: In September 2020, the Government introduced an enhanced Learning Support Funding (LSF). Under the LSF, all eligible nursing students in England now receive non-income assessed and non-repayable grants of at least £5,000 per year, with additional funding for those studying certain subjects and those with child dependants. Students eligible for the LSF can also access maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company.

Question

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Regulating healthcare professionals, protecting the public, consultation response - analysis, published on 17 February 2023, when he will remove the Five Year Rule from legislation.

Will Quince: The Government’s response to the public consultation ‘Regulating Healthcare Professionals, Protecting the Public’, included the Government’s commitment to the removal of the five year time limit for fitness to practice concerns to be investigated by the General Medical Council (GCM), the body which registers medical practitioners.It is our intention that this change will be delivered as part of our planned programme of reforms to the legislative framework for regulated health and care professionals across the United Kingdom.The GMC does not automatically reject historic complaints under the five year rule but, as required by the legislation, assesses each historic case on whether pursuing fitness to practice proceedings are in the public interest.

Hospital Beds

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of the new hospital programme on bed capacity in each region in 2030.

Will Quince: The New Hospital Programme is working with all trusts in the Programme to develop their plans, including the number of beds each scheme will have. The New Hospital Programme schemes will improve capacity through innovation and technology, which will reduce the burden on the workforce, release time to care and improve overall productivity.

Health Services: Ventilation

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update the guidance and specifications on the use of mechanical ventilation systems in the healthcare sector.

Will Quince: The Health Technical Memorandum ‘Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings’ was updated and published on 22 June 2021 and there are no plans to update it at this time.Additional related guidance was issued on 9 May 2023 on the associated topics of the application of high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces, guidance and standards, and the application of ultraviolet devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces, guidance and standards.This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/application-of-ultraviolet-uvc-devices-for-air-cleaning-in-occupied-healthcare-spaces-guidance-and-standards/

Protective Clothing: China

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May to Question 184825on Protective Clothing: China, how many items of personal protective equipment held in China were (a) donated, (b) recycled and (c) sold between January 2020 and September 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

IVF: Health Services: Congleton

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to help ensure that the provision of IVF is (a) efficient and (b) compassionate for people requiring IVF services in Congleton constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Wotton Lawn Hospital: Safety

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of patient safety at Wotton Lawn Hospital.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Wotton Lawn Hospital: Staff

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at Wotton Lawn Hospital.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings (a) he and (b) other Ministers from his Department have held with Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust since January 2023.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Infant Foods: Procurement

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the amount of baby formula procured by (a) the NHS and (b) other public services from UK-based businesses.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ambulance Services: Motor Vehicles

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of imported foreign ambulances in use by the NHS in England.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's total spend was on human resources in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Patients: Information

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS patients who require (a) medication information and (b) patient information booklets in an additional language.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Sick Leave

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of mental health-related sick days which were taken by departmental staff in each of the last five years.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental health-related sick day absences were taken by staff in his Department in each month since April 2022.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of departmental staff who took sick absences related to stress, anxiety, depression or other mental health reasons in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Sudan: Students

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting the continuation of education in the UK of medical students who had been studying in Sudan and have had to leave that country.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing medical students in Sudan to continue their training and education in the UK.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made. Students would need to apply to individual medical schools and meet their entry requirements, as well as meeting any United Kingdom immigration requirements.

Yellow Card Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body has responsibility for analysing data collected by the Adverse Events Yellow Card system; and what assessment has he made of the potential merits of collating this data on a publicly accessible database.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects and analyses the data received through the Yellow Card Scheme, and publishes data on medicines and COVID-19 vaccines in a searchable database on the Yellow Card website for transparency purposes.As outlined in the Yellow Card Privacy Policy, the MHRA has responsibilities under both the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 to protect confidential data and personal data pertaining to individuals. The content and format of the data is currently being enhanced in line with patient and healthcare professional feedback and will be expanded to include medical devices in due course. The data provided will continue to be aligned to the MHRA’s legal responsibilities to data subjects.

Department of Health and Social Care: Vetting

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to stop employers from requiring employees to pay the costs of necessary Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Will Quince: The payment of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on behalf of employees is a matter for individual local employers. When recruiting to a job which requires DBS checks, employers should advise candidates of their local policy about who pays for them.

Yellow Card Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) level and (b) adequacy of data collected by (i) mandatory and (ii) voluntary reporting of adverse clinical events by health professionals before the introduction of the Yellow Card reporting system in England compared to that now collected via the Yellow Card system.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed other international mandatory and non-mandatory reporting systems for healthcare professionals and found limited evidence that making reporting mandatory increases the ability to detect safety signals. Very few international mandatory reporting systems have a better reporting rate or a more successful system for detecting safety signals than the United Kingdom.In both medicines and devices legislation there are requirements for manufacturers to report, but there is no legal obligation for healthcare organisations. However, there are professional body standards and guidelines that make reporting a gold standard for healthcare professionals. The MHRA continues to work with partners across the healthcare system to promote and encourage use of the Yellow Card scheme to help detect safety issues.The MHRA has reviewed global approaches to mandatory reporting in other regulatory systems and continues to consider the approach in the UK as we work to improve reporting capability and functionality through systems.

Pharmacy: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department provided for (a) staff resources, (b) expenses and (c) other costs for the (i) establishment and (ii) operation of the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership.

Will Quince: The UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership was commissioned by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officers of the four United Kingdom nations. No funding or staff resource was provided by the Department for the establishment or operation of the Commission.

Yellow Card Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of awareness of (a) health professionals and (b) the general public of the Adverse Events Yellow Card System; and what steps is he taking to increase awareness of that system among those groups.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recognises the importance of both public and healthcare professional understanding of, and access to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme, so that they can promptly report any concerns they have about the safety of healthcare products. The MHRA monitors the number of reports it receives from members of the public and healthcare professionals and strives to keep improving understanding and awareness of the reporting system. The MHRA continually works to encourage reporting of any safety concerns to the Yellow Card scheme and help improve the safe use of medicines and medical devices for everyone.A sharp increase in reporting, mainly from patients, has been seen due to better awareness of the scheme following significant communications activity at the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Ambulance Services: Motor Vehicles

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of ambulances in service are fully compliant with the latest British standards: CEN BS EN1789:2020.

Will Quince: The information requested is not held centrally. The procurement of ambulances is an operational matter for the National Health Service. Each new ambulance is required to meet strict technical specifications to ensure consistency in quality and safety across the fleet.

Health Services

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any mechanisms exist to allow the Government to intervene in devolved health matters if it believes there is a significant risk to patient health.

Will Quince: Broadly, healthcare is devolved and it is the responsibility of the Devolved Governments to ensure the safety of patients accessing health services.The Parliament of the United Kingdom retains the power to legislate in devolved areas and would usually do so with the consent of Devolved Governments. Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, there are reserved emergency powers to make regulations when an emergency is declared within the terms defined in the Act, which include protecting human life, health and safety or treating human illness or injury.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) closure and (b) reduction in size of mental health hubs for NHS staff on those staff.

Will Quince: Staff mental health hubs were established in October 2020 with funding subsequently extended to March 2023. They were funded on a non-recurrent basis using additional funding from Government as a short-term response to the pressure on the workforce from COVID-19. A number of systems across the National Health Service have chosen to continue to fund the work of the hubs. We are working with NHS England to explore how we can ensure all staff can access specialist support when they need it.The health and wellbeing of NHS staff is a priority. NHS England has developed a range of health and wellbeing support for staff and earlier this year published a strategy to grow and strengthen occupational health and wellbeing services across the NHS. NHS staff can continue to access NHS Practitioner Health, a national support service for staff with more complex mental health needs brough about by serious issues such as trauma or addiction.

NHS: Mental Health Services

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to continue to fund the NHS staff mental health and wellbeing hubs beyond 2022/23.

Will Quince: Staff mental health hubs were established in October 2020 with funding subsequently extended to March 2023. They were funded on a non-recurrent basis using additional funding from Government as a short-term response to the pressure on the workforce from COVID-19. A number of systems across the National Health Service have chosen to continue to fund the work of the hubs. We are working with NHS England to explore how we can ensure all staff can access specialist support when they need it.The health and wellbeing of NHS staff is a priority. NHS England has developed a range of health and wellbeing support for staff and earlier this year published a strategy to grow and strengthen occupational health and wellbeing services across the NHS. NHS staff can continue to access NHS Practitioner Health, a national support service for staff with more complex mental health needs brough about by serious issues such as trauma or addiction.

Public Health: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department (a) allocated and (b) allocated to Enfield Council as part of the Public Health Grant.

Neil O'Brien: In 2023/2024, the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.529 billion. Information on the public health grant allocation for Enfield for 2023/24 as well as its indicative allocation for 2024/25 is set out in the table below:Local authority name2023/24 allocation (£)2024/25 indicative allocation (£)Enfield18,611,47918,856,723

Coronavirus: Surveys

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring the Office for National Statistics to continue to publish covid-19 data.

Maria Caulfield: The COVID-19 Infection Survey has provided vital information to inform critical Government decisions across the United Kingdom. This has shaped the response to the pandemic and made a great difference to our understanding of COVID-19.As we have transitioned into Living with COVID-19 the approach to COVID-19 surveillance is being actively reviewed to ensure it is proportionate, cost effective and considered alongside how we monitor a range of other infectious diseases that present a similar threat.The UK Health Security Agency will continue to publish regular reports on COVID-19 which will contribute to our situational awareness, these include our weekly surveillance reports, which provide data on infection rates and hospitalisation numbers. We also maintain the ability to track the latest variants through our genomics capabilities which assess the risks posed by different strains of the virus.

Organs: Crime

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many offences under section 170 of the Health and Care Act 2022 have been recorded.

Maria Caulfield: No offences under section 170 of the Health and Care Act 2022 have been recorded.

Mental Health: First Aid

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the prevalence of mental health first aid in (a) the community and (b) the NHS workforce.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made.

Psychiatric Hospitals: Discharges

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the outcomes for people discharged from mental health wards.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. We are working with the National Health Service to improve inpatient mental health care and subsequent patient outcomes. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding and transforming NHS mental health services by March 2024, including those provided in an inpatient setting.Where the quality or safety of inpatient care falls short, it is important that we learn from any mistakes to improve care across the NHS and protect patients in the future. This is why we have conducted a rapid review into mental health inpatient settings, with a specific focus on how we use data and evidence, including complaints, feedback and whistleblowing alerts, to identify risks to safety and bring about improvements to outcome-based, therapeutic care. The review’s report is expected to be published shortly.NHS England has also established a three-year quality transformation programme, which seeks to tackle the root causes of unsafe, poor-quality inpatient care in mental health, learning disability and autism settings.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the risks of (a) bird to human and (b) human to human transmission of avian influenza.

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of levels of avian flu on human health.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with partners to monitor and investigate the risk to human health of avian influenza (influenza A H5N1). Our latest assessment of United Kingdom risk from avian influenza remains at limited mammalian transmission. Current evidence suggests the avian influenza viruses we are seeing circulating in birds around the world do not spread easily to people. However, the virus can spread to people following close contact with infected birds and UKHSA has introduced a screening programme to monitor those exposed to learn more about the risk.

England Infected Blood Support Scheme

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the interim report of the Infected Blood Inquiry published on 5 April 2023, what the expected timeframe is for enabling the children and parents of people impacted by infected blood to register with the English Infected Blood Support Scheme.

Maria Caulfield: The Government is considering the recommendations outlined in the Infected Blood Inquiry’s second interim report and work is under way across all relevant Departments, led by the Cabinet Office, and with the devolved administrations to respond fully. The interim report is detailed and it is right that the Government considers the complexities it sets out.

Hospitals: Discharges

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients moved into a step down bed purchased using the £750 million allocated by his Department for freeing up beds during winter 2022-23; what was the average duration of their package; and how many of these patients were discharged through each of the pathways specified in the Hospital discharge and community support guidance published on 1 July 2022.

Helen Whately: All areas have submitted a final report for the £500 million 2022/23 Adult Social Care Discharge Fund. The Department is reviewing the data and analysis of spending will be included in the evaluation. Local areas spending plans of the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund spending plans is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-discharge-fund-spending-plansIn January 2023 we announced up to £200 million to fund short-term National Health Service step-down care packages, as well as to help fund wrap-around primary and community health services to support patients’ recovery. Between 24 January and 31 March, sitrep data indicates integrated care boards (ICBs) purchased over 7,000 step-down beds (beds providing intermediate rehabilitation care before going home) for short-term step-down care. The Department does not hold the data on the average duration of short-term packages, and how many of these patients were discharged through each of the discharge pathways. The further £50 million of capital funding made available in January 2023 was provided to expand hospital discharge lounges and ambulance hubs. No additional step-down beds were purchased through this funding.

Coronavirus: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to address the rise in the level of admissions to hospital for covid-19 of people aged over 75.

Maria Caulfield: UK Health Security Agency continues to monitor COVID-19 levels nationally and regionally to inform Government on the spread and impact of COVID-19. COVID-19 data shows a downward trend in hospitalisations including in the 75 to 84 year olds and 85 years old and over age groups.For the week commencing 10 April 2023, there were 32.9 admissions per 100,000 population in the 75 to 84 year olds age group and 73.97 admissions per 100,000 for the 85 years old and over age group. In the week commencing 8 May 2023 this had fallen to 20.5 admissions in the 75 to 84 years old age group per 100,000 population and 46.4 admissions per 100,000 population in the 85 years old and over age group. As set out in the Government’s Living with COVID-19 strategy we are continuing to take proportionate action whilst protecting the most vulnerable. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have advised that, with the primary aim of preventing severe disease, an extra booster in Spring 2023, will be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults and individuals aged five years old and over who are immunosuppressed.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his department will make an assessment of the adequacy of mental health services for young people in Stockport constituency.

Maria Caulfield: We have not made a specific assessment. NHS Greater Manchester integrated care board is responsible for decisions about the provision of children and young people’s mental health services in Stockport and whether they are adequate to meet the needs of young people in the local population.

Blood: Donors

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to ensure that people with genetic haemochromatosis are able to register as blood donors with NHS Blood & Transplant.

Neil O'Brien: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) encourages patients with genetic haemochromatosis (GH) to donate blood and provides open access for individuals to self-refer. People with GH are important members of the blood donor community, and are welcome to donate blood when they are having their iron levels regularly monitored by their general practitioner or specialist team, are generally fit and well, have no organ or tissue damage and meet the standard donor eligibility criteria and designated donation intervals.In addition, NHSBT has partnered with Haemochromatosis UK on a new campaign to reach patients with GH and encourage them to donate blood. Campaign materials have been sent out to all Haemochromatosis UK members and hospitals to cascade information to haematology nurses via transfusion practitioners to generate awareness where venesections, a treatment for GH, are taking place.

Epidermolysis Bullosa: Children

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the treatment of children who have recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Helen Whately: NHS England is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the evaluation of two products for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), birch bark extract for skin wounds associated with dystrophic and junctional EB and the gene therapy Beremagene geperpavec for skin wounds associated with dystrophic EB. If any of these treatments are given a positive recommendation by NICE, NHS England will ensure that service provision is in place to deliver these treatments in line with the terms of the NICE mandate.

Better Care Fund: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Council as part of the Better Care Fund.

Helen Whately: The Better Care Fund (BCF) combines a number of grants and contributions. For 2023/24, Solihull have been allocated £28.7 million as part of the BCF. This includes the minimum NHS contribution (£19 million), the improved Better Care Fund grant (£6.4 million), Disabled Facilities Grant (£2.5 million) and the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund (£725,297).

Public Health: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Council as part of the Public Health Grant.

Neil O'Brien: Information on the public health grant allocation for Solihull for 2023/24 is set out in the table below:Public Health Grant allocation for Solihull in 2023/24, and indicative allocation in 2024/25.Local authority name2023/24 allocation (£)2024/25 indicative allocation (£)Solihull12,214,45812,375,408

Rare Diseases: Medical Treatments

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to review NICE appraisal process for rare disease medicines to increase the number of rare disease treatments recommended for the full patient population.

Helen Whately: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new medicines, including medicines for rare diseases, to determine whether they should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. Most new medicines are evaluated through NICE’s technology appraisal programme, and NICE also operates a separate highly specialised technologies (HST) programme for the assessment of medicines for very rare diseases.Since 2013, 91% of NICE’s recommendations on medicines for rare diseases have recommended use of the treatment for some or all of the eligible patient population, of which 58% have been for the full patient population defined in the marketing authorisation. NICE has recommended 100% of the medicines evaluated through its HST programme for some or all of the eligible patient population.NICE concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes that it uses for health technology assessment in 2022 to ensure that its methods and processes remain fit for purpose. Many of the changes that NICE has introduced through the methods review will benefit medicines for rare diseases, including the introduction of a severity modifier (replacing the end of life modifier) and changes to better respond to uncertainty.

Contain Outbreak Management Fund: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Council under the Contain Outbreak Management Fund.

Maria Caulfield: The Test and Trace Support Service Grant was subsequently renamed as the Contain Outbreak Management Fund and expanded to provide local authorities with further financial support. Solihull received further allocations to the value of £7,310,224.18.

NHS Test and Trace: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department allocated to Solihull Council via the Covid-19 Test and Trace Service Support Grant.

Maria Caulfield: In June 2020, the Department distributed funding to English local authorities to action the development of local outbreak management plans, under the former name of the Test and Trace Support Service Grant, which later became the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF). Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council received £1,040,716.53 in this first allocation.

Linley & Kidsgrove RUFC: Defibrillators

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to support Linley & Kidsgrove RUFC to get a defibrillator.

Helen Whately: The Department is currently in the pre-procurement stage in its process of determining a selected partner for the Automated External Defibrillator Fund. The Department will publish in due course an invitation to bid for the fund through GOV.UK. The invitation will be open to all interested organisations including Linley & Kidsgrove RUFC.

Social Prescribing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to ensure social prescribing plays a cross-cutting role in the Major Conditions Strategy.

Helen Whately: The Department is working with partners to determine the appropriate role for social prescribing for the Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy is still evolving, and the Department recently put out a call for evidence. The interim report will be published soon.

Mental Health: Cost of Living

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the cost of living on mental health.

Maria Caulfield: We are committed to supporting everyone’s mental wellbeing and we want to ensure services are there for anyone who experiences a mental health crisis. We are working across Government and with external partners to identify who is most vulnerable to the impacts of increased cost of living, and what action can be taken to support them.The Government announced a £37 billion package of cost of living support to help households and businesses, including a £15 billion targeted package of direct support for the most vulnerable households.NHS England released a further £1.5 billion in the 2023/24 financial year to National Health Service integrated care systems to manage the rising costs of energy and inflation more broadly. It will be up to individual integrated care boards to decide how best to allocate this funding to reduce the burdens on mental health hospitals and community mental health provision.

Tenofovir

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide Descovy as a HIV prevention drug.

Neil O'Brien: The updated NHS England clinical commissioning policy establishes the use of generic and second line pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus prevention, including emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (Descovy®) as a second line treatment option for individuals who meet the inclusion criteria and cannot take the usual first-line PrEP therapy due to risk factors.The commissioning policy was published on 22 May 2023 and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reimbursement-for-the-use-of-generic-drugs-for-pre-exposure-prophylaxis-prep-for-the-prevention-of-hiv/

Dental Services: Finance

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of an underspend in the primary dentistry budget on the availability of dentistry services.

Neil O'Brien: We have assessed the utilisation of underspends in National Health Service dentistry budgets on NHS dentistry services. NHS England has provided guidance for integrated care boards (ICBs) that requires dental funding to be ringfenced, with any unused resources re-directed to improve NHS dental access in the first instance. A schedule setting out the dental ringfence has been issued to ICBs. NHS England’s 2023/24 revenue finance and contracting guidance, which provides more detail, is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2023-24-revenue-finance-and-contracting-guidance/

Estradiol

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of provision for estradiol gel in the last 12 months.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the provision for Urtogestan capsules in the last 12 months.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adeqquacy of the supply of hormone replacement therapy.

Maria Caulfield: There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and the vast majority are in good supply. We are regularly engaging with individual suppliers to prevent and mitigate supply issues in the short and long term. The HRT supply position has improved considerably since last Spring. Suppliers’ responses to our calls for action to boost production in response to growing demand are having an effect. For example, the introduction of a new manufacturing facility for Oestrogel® has meant that this product is now readily available for patients. Only two of the 22 Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) issued since April last year remain as the supply disruptions with most products experiencing shortages have been resolved.Due to an increase in demand last year, there were intermittent supply issues with estradiol gel presentations. Six SSPs were issued for Oestrogel® 0.06% gel and Sandrena® 0.5mg and 1mg gel sachets to allow for switching and limiting the volumes dispensed. These SSPs expired on 30 November 2022 and 12 May 2023 respectively, as supply had stabilised.We are aware of an issue with Utrogestan (progesterone) 100mg capsules, which will be in intermittent supply until late 2023. The supplier is taking steps to increase supply and we continue to work closely with them to monitor and drive progress. In the meantime, we have issued a Serious Shortage Protocol which allows pharmacists to dispense a maximum of two months’ supply per prescription, to help support access to available stock.

Dental Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support dentists to take on new NHS patients.

Neil O'Brien: In July 2022, we announced a package of dental system improvements to increase access for National Health Service dental patients and make NHS dentistry more attractive to practices.NHS England has negotiated amendments to the NHS dental contract with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders. These improvements, which came into effect in November 2022, include enabling commissioning of up to 110% of contracted Units of Dental Activity to increase NHS care; fairer remuneration for practices providing complex treatment within current Band 2 treatments; and removing barriers around use of staff skills mix in NHS dentistry teams.We will announce our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year. It will outline a number of additional actions across a number of areas to support and recover NHS dentistry.

Psychiatric Hospitals: Sexual Offences

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of levels of sexual assaults at inpatient mental health hospitals.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help reduce the number of sexual assaults at inpatient mental health hospitals.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service leaders have a statutory duty of care to look after their staff and patients, and must prevent any sexual misconduct, violence, harrassment and abuse in their organisations. We continue to work with NHS England and other system partners to ensure all NHS hospitals, including mental health inpatient facilities, offer a safe space for their patients and staff. NHS England has established a three-year Quality Transformation Programme which seeks to tackle the root causes of unsafe, poor-quality inpatient care, including sexual safety, in mental health, learning disability and autism settings.  NHS England has also set up a domestic abuse and sexual violence programme and appointed the first national clinical director for domestic abuse and sexual violence to provide dedicated leadership and support for integrated care boards and providers. The programme includes a review of policies, support and training relating to staff who experience domestic abuse and sexual violence which began in February 2023. And, as part of its NHS patient safety strategy, NHS England is taking forward a mental health safety improvement programme with a focus on sexual safety, working with the Royal Colleges of Psychiatrists in particular to produce sexual safety standards.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to  the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 30 November 2022, Official Report, column 896, what the evidential basis was for his statement that the UK had had the fastest vaccine roll-out in the world because of its freedoms after leaving the European Union.

Maria Caulfield: All European Union member states pursued a joint vaccine procurement, which was slower to obtain supplies of vaccine than the approach pursued by the United Kingdom Government. Because the UK approach differed from that taken by the EU the UK was the first country in the world to authorise and deploy the Pfizer and Oxford / AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. The UK was also the first major European economy and first G20 member to vaccinate 50% of its population with at least one dose, and to provide boosters to 50% of the population.

Maternal Mortality: Ethnic Groups

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to end the Black maternal mortality gap.

Maria Caulfield: While births in England are among the safest globally, we must do more to ensure maternity care is consistent regardless of ethnicity. To address this, Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems have begun to publish Equity and Equality Action Plans to tackle disparities in outcomes and experiences of maternity care at a local level.NHS England have developed fourteen Maternal Medicine Networks across England, to ensure that all women with chronic and acute medical problems around pregnancy have access to specialist management and care from physicians and obstetrics, tackling the biggest contributors to maternal mortality. Knowing that black women are more likely to suffer with a pre-existing condition, they should be a key group for whom the networks provide benefit.Further to this, the Maternity Disparities Taskforce, who last held a meeting in April, brings together experts from across the health system, government departments and the voluntary sector to explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle maternal disparities.

Dental Services: Northamptonshire

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists are registered in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS dentistry appointments that were available in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley, and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency in each year between 2018 and 2022.

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dentistry services in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking to improve dentistry services in (a) South Northamptonshire constituency and (b) Northamptonshire.

Neil O'Brien: The requested data is not available. In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across England. The changes we have implemented include ensuring dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver more NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. However, we know that we need to do more and continue to build on these reforms. We will be announcing our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year.NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place later in 2023.

Department for Education

Overseas Students: Visas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact student visa restrictions will have on international students studying in the UK.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals for changes to visa rules for international students on the impact of international students and their dependants on (a) research, (b) science and (C) the arts in the UK.

Robert Halfon: The UK has been successful in delivering the government’s International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030, for two years running, and we expect that universities will be able to adapt to reduced dependant numbers.Our offer to international students remains extremely competitive and we are committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for international students from across the globe. International students make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education sector, which is good for our universities and delivers growth at home. Those affected by these changes will predominantly be dependants of international students. Students coming to the UK to undertake postgraduate research courses will not be affected by the new restriction on dependents.The Department for Education will work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and across other government departments, to assess the impact of these changes on research, science and arts in the UK.

Teachers: Qualifications

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of full-time equivalent teachers without qualified teacher status in each Parliamentary constituency in England.

Nick Gibb: Qualified teacher status (QTS) is considered desirable for teachers in most schools in England. In some schools, including academies, free schools and independent schools, QTS is not a legal requirement. Academies have a fundamental freedom to employ talented teachers who do not necessarily have QTS.Most teachers in all schools, including academies, have QTS and have undertaken Initial Teacher Training (ITT). In the 2021/22 academic year, the latest data available showed that 12,551 teachers (full time equivalent) did not have QTS, which is equivalent to 2.7% of teachers.Information on the school workforce in England is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics release, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The headcount of teachers without QTS in each state funded school in England can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/29d83b82-2aba-44c7-bb82-08db371944c7.The requested information on the number of full time equivalent teachers without QTS in each Parliamentary constituency in England is available at: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/0728fb07-f014-492c-aac9-fd11bb441601/files/6d390537-3181-4f43-9672-08da47b59ff3.There are 24,000 more teachers now than there were in 2010. The quality of teaching is the most important in school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Evidence is clear that high quality professional development can lead to improved pupil attainment.The Department has invested in transforming training for teachers and head teachers. Every teacher and head teacher now has access to high quality, evidence based training and professional development at every stage of their career, starting with ITT.By 2024, a reformed ITT provider market will be delivering quality assured training leading to QTS that places a greater emphasis than ever before on embedding structured practice into courses, ensuring trainees are ready to thrive in the classroom.A new system of higher quality training provider partnerships will be supported by £36 million to introduce new Quality Requirements, including better training for mentors and the delivery of new, cutting edge, intensive training, and practice activity. Every teaching school hub will be involved in ITT to ensure that training places are available across the country.The Department wants to continue bringing great people into teaching and has announced bursaries worth up to £27,000 tax-free and scholarships worth up to £29,000 tax-free, to attract talented trainees in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.In addition to scholarships and bursaries, the Department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.

Extracurricular Activities: Fees and Charges

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing free after-school activities at schools.

Claire Coutinho: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department has not made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing free after-school activities at schools.The department is committed to ensuring young people have access to high quality extracurricular opportunities. The department knows these are an important part of a rich educational experience and can bring wider benefits to young people's mental health, confidence, social skills and general wellbeing. We also recognise the important role wraparound childcare, including after-school clubs, has in enabling parents to work.Schools are best placed to understand and meet the needs of their pupils and so have flexibility to decide what range of extracurricular activities to offer and how to resource these activities.  Both pupil premium and recovery premium can be used to fund enrichment activities. In March 2022, the department updated its guidance to make this clear to schools. Schools can choose how they wish to use this funding in line with a menu of approaches.Working families can also get help with childcare costs through Tax Free Childcare (TFC) worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged up to 11, or £4,000 per year for children aged up to 17 with disabilities, and the childcare element of Universal Credit (UC) for children up to age 16. Parents and carers can benefit from TFC and UC for the cost of after-school clubs, but the providers must be on the Ofsted Early Years or Childcare registers.The department also supports a range of initiatives to expand access to high quality extracurricular activities, for example investing over £200 million a year in our Holiday Activities and Food programme and working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to all state secondary schools in England. The government is also investing £289 million in a new childcare ‘pathfinder’ scheme to support local authorities to work with primary schools and private providers to set up and deliver wraparound childcare before and after school.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has made available to Solihull Council under the holiday activities and food programme grant.

Claire Coutinho: This year, the government is investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Last summer, the programme reached more than 600,000 children and young people in England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals.This year, the department has allocated £1,000,290 to Solihull Local Authority, building on the £997,220 that was allocated to them for 2022/23.

Special Educational Needs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice to use identity-first language.

Claire Coutinho: The department will consult in due course on updating the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice. This is part of the package of measures to reform the SEND system, following the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, and before putting it to Parliament for approval. This will be an opportunity to gather views on all aspects of the wording of the Code.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to assess the effectiveness of its support for deaf pupils by tracking attainment post-education.

Claire Coutinho: Key stage 4, and 16 to 18 destination measures published by the department provide clear and comparable information on the success of schools and colleges in helping their pupils to continue in sustained education, apprenticeships or employment. Destinations data is shared with schools and colleges on an annual basis to help them assess whether the guidance and support they offer their pupils provides them with the best possible progression opportunities.The latest available data shows that 94.5% of pupils with identified hearing impairment had a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination after key stage 4, compared with 94.1% of all pupils in state-funded mainstream schools. The data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/afc520d7-8fe3-43e8-9b5d-08db5ac222d7.The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice is clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood. This includes supporting children and young people to develop independence, contribute to their community, develop positive friendships, be as healthy as possible, and, for the majority of young people, prepare them for higher education and/or employment.The department understands that with the right preparation and support, the overwhelming majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained, paid employment. All professionals working with them should share that presumption, and should provide the career advice and support that help young people to develop the skills and experience, and achieve the qualifications, that they need to succeed in their careers.The Post-16 education and labour market activities, pathways and outcomes (LEO) report published in May 2021 uses the LEO administrative data set to explore the pattern and nature of the pathways that people take from completing school, through their education and into the labour market, broken down by a number of key characteristics including Special Education Need (further split by those with a statement and those without). This provides information on their educational and labour market activities, including earnings, employment rates and out-of-work benefits uptake, for up to 15 years after leaving school. The Post-16 education report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-16-education-and-labour-market-activities-pathways-and-outcomes-leo.

Pre-school Education: Special Educational Needs

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information gathered in nursery on whether or not a child has suspected SEND is passed on to their next educational setting.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information on a child’s educational profile and progress is passed from a nursery to their next educational setting.

Claire Coutinho: The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers in England must follow. This includes statutory assessment arrangements for measuring progress of all children in early years provision, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).As set out in the EYFS framework, when a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must review their progress, and provide parents and/or carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas of learning and development. This is the ‘progress check at age two’. The progress check must identify the child’s strengths and any areas where progress is less than expected. If there are significant emerging concerns, or an identified SEND, practitioners should develop a targeted plan to support the child’s future learning and development, involving parents and/or carers and other professionals as appropriate.Practitioners should encourage parents and/or carers to share information from the progress check with other relevant professionals, including the staff of any new provision the child may transfer to.Additionally, the EYFS requires early years providers, ordinarily schools, in England to complete the EYFS profile assessment for all children, including those with SEND, at the end of the academic year in which they turn five, usually reception year.Each child’s level of development is assessed against 17 early learning goals (ELGs). For each ELG, practitioners must assess whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS, or if they are not yet reaching this level and should be assessed as ‘emerging’.Year 1 teachers must be given a copy of the EYFS profile report. The main purpose of the EYFS profile is to support a successful transition to key stage 1 by informing the professional dialogue between EYFS and year 1 teachers regarding each child’s stage of development and learning needs, and helping them to plan the year 1 curriculum to meet the needs of all children.For children attending more than one setting, the profile must be completed by the school where the child spends most time. If a child moves to a new school during the academic year, the original school must send their assessment of the child’s level of development against the ELGs to the relevant school within 15 days of receiving a request. If a child moves during the summer term, relevant providers must agree which of them will complete the profile.

Semiconductors: BTEC Qualifications

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Semiconductor Strategy, published 19 May 2023, whether her Department plans to create BTEC courses in relevant skills to help support young people enter the semiconductor industry.

Robert Halfon: Apprenticeships and technical qualifications such as T Levels must be based on occupational standards codesigned with employers and approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.At level 3, T Levels are the new, world class technical qualifications that are being rolled out across the country. The T Level in “Building Services Engineering for Construction” provides young people with an in-depth understanding of the construction sector. This includes an occupational specialism in “Electrical and electronic equipment engineering”, covering the properties, construction, and function of semiconductor devices.As outlined in the National Semiconductor Strategy, the department will work with employers to ensure that occupational standards meet the specific requirements of employers in the semiconductor sector, to increase the flow of talented people into the industry.

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the policies in the Written Ministerial Statement entitled Immigration update by the Secretary of State for the Home Department of 23 May 2023, HCWS800, on the recruitment of trainee teachers from overseas.

Nick Gibb: The UK has been successful in delivering the Government’s International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030, for two years running, and we expect that universities will be able to adapt to reduced dependant numbers.The Department’s offer to international students remains extremely competitive and we are committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for international students from across the globe. International students make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education sector, which is good for our universities and delivers growth at home. Those affected by these changes will predominantly be dependants of international students.The Department is also taking action to attract and recruit the very best teachers, including offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax free for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. The Department has extended bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 to non UK trainees in languages and physics.

Pupils: Transgender People

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the guidance for schools on transgender pupils will help to ensure that students are protected from transphobic bullying.

Nick Gibb: The Government is clear that bullying should never be tolerated and is committed to supporting schools to tackle bullying. The Department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.Gender is a complex and sensitive issue. That is why the Department is working with the Minister for Women and Equalities to develop guidance to support schools in relation to gender questioning pupils. The Department will publish a draft for consultation later in the summer term.More widely, the Department is providing over £2 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying.The Department is also making sure that all children in England will be taught about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and for difference.All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. The policy should set out the behaviour expected of pupils, the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, and rewards for good behaviour. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. This behaviour policy is supported by ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This tool is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/. This can help with combatting bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including hate based bullying.

School Teachers' Review Body

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the report of the School Teacher's Review Body.

Nick Gibb: As part of the normal pay round process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted recommendations to the Government on teacher pay for 2023/24. The Department is considering the recommendations and will publish its response in the usual way, in due course.

Condition Improvement Fund

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of applications to the Condition Improvement Fund was for projects made by (a) academies, (b) sixth-form colleges and (c) voluntary-aided schools before being successfully selected for funding.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the highest numbers of applications made by (a) sixth-form colleges, (b) voluntary-aided schools and (c) eligible academies for funding from the Condition Improvement Fund are without being successful as of 24 May 2023.

Nick Gibb: The Department has allocated over £15 billion of capital funding since 2015 for essential maintenance and improvements to schools, including £1.8 billion committed in this financial year. Of this, £456 million has been allocated to 1,033 projects through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) round for the 2023/24 financial year to 859 eligible schools and sixth form colleges.CIF is an annual bidding round for stand alone academies, schools in smaller multi-academy trusts and voluntary aided groups, and sixth form colleges to apply for capital funding. The priority for CIF is to address significant condition need to keep buildings safe and in good working order. This includes funding projects to address health and safety issues, building compliance and poor building condition. There were 4,547 academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools eligible to apply to CIF in 2023/24.CIF has funded over 11, 000 projects since its first round in the 2015/16 financial year, making a difference to pupils and teachers and helping to create safer schools and colleges.Since the first round of the CIF in 2015/16, the average number of applications made to the CIF before being successfully selected for funding is 1.22 applications by an academy, 1.64 applications by a sixth form college and 0.4 applications by a voluntary aided school.Applicants can apply for up to two projects in each application round. Not all applications will be for the same works in every round.The highest number of separate applications made to the CIF across the nine annual rounds of the programme without being successful is 13 projects by a sixth form college, 4 projects by a voluntary aided school, and 14 projects by an academy. There are a range of reasons why some trusts are repeatedly unsuccessful, including failing to demonstrate urgency, a lack of supporting evidence and inconsistent information, as well as the competitive nature of the grant process. The Department has prioritised those which provided evidence of the greatest need.In the most recent CIF round, 2023/24, around 34% of applications were successful. The Department provided feedback to applicants regarding individual unsuccessful projects.Schools sometimes change their Unique Reference Number (URN) identifier when changing school name, academy status, or moving from one responsible body to another, such as an academy trust. Each URN has been counted as a separate establishment.

Schools: Sanitation

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools in England which only provide gender neutral toilets.

Nick Gibb: The advice on Standards for School Premises (2015) is clear that suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for the sole use of pupils, and that separate toilets for boys and girls aged 8 years or over are provided, except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and that is intended for use by one pupil at a time. The advice on Standards for School Premises is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410294/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf#:~:text=The%20Education%20Act%201996%20places%20a%20duty%20on,and%20new%20schools%20maintained%20by%20a%20local%20authority3.It is for schools to find reasonable ways, in accordance with the law, to balance every child’s right to access clean and safe toilet facilities when they need them.The Department does not collect data on the number of schools that only provide gender-neutral toilets.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide attainment data for deaf students at key stage 4 broken down by local authority for each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department reports on pupils with hearing impairments as follows in the attached Excel file.186576_table (xlsx, 89.0KB)

National Curriculum Tests: Literacy

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received about the adequacy of the key stage two English reading test that was taken on 10 May 2023.

Nick Gibb: ​The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for the development and delivery of national curriculum tests and assessments. Its work on National Curriculum assessments is regulated by Ofqual.The STA works independently on test materials. Ministers have no involvement in test development or in the selection of the content of the test. Ministers do not have access to the test materials until they are published after the end of the timetable variation window, which is five school days after the scheduled test date. Ministers likewise are not involved in the standards maintenance process which determines the threshold for the expected standard each year.The STA has met with stakeholders, including teacher and school leader unions and headteachers, to understand their views on the end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests this year, and are responding to correspondence from schools, parents and other individuals regarding the tests.The STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and in regard to all aspects of primary assessment.

Home Office

Asylum: Housing

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had discussions with Wirral Council on the potential use of a vessel at the Wirral Waters development in the River Mersey to house asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick: Extensive engagement has been undertaken with senior Home Office Officials. A multi-agency forum is being established.

Home Office: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent decision makers were employed by the Home Office to deal with (a) asylum applications (b) settlement visas (c) family visas and (d) all other visas in (i) 2010 (ii) 2015 (iii) 2020 and (iv) 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The information requested on the number of full time equivalent decision makers is not readily available in the format requested. However, the Monthly Workforce Management Information Return found at the link below, which is published by Cabinet Office, provides data on the number of staff employed at different grades in the Home Office, our agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies. Workforce management information, 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Housing

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues on local (a) consent and (b) support as factors that may be considered when making decisions about where vessels for housing asylum seekers should be berthed.

Robert Jenrick: We engage with local authorities and other key local stakeholders before making a decision whether to stand up asylum accommodation.

Asylum: Housing

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a time limit for how long asylum seekers can be housed at former Ministry of Defence sites.

Robert Jenrick: The maximum length of stay for former Ministry of Defence Sites is currently under review. We will continually monitor those accommodated to ensure that the length of stay is appropriate for the individuals accommodated.

Home Office: Photography

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s transparency data entitled Home Office procurement card spend over £500: March 2023, for what purpose her Delivery Directorate hired an event photographer on 16 March 2023; and whether her Department made an assessment of the potential merits of the creative and video team within her Department’s Communications Directorate carrying out that work.

Chris Philp: The photographer was engaged on behalf of the Commissioner for Countering Extremism, to take photographs at an extremism conference in March 2023.The photographer provided the best value for money and the most appropriate way of meeting the requirements of the event.

Animal Experiments: Cosmetics

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many existing legacy licences are in force for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals; how many animals have been used for (a) such testing and (b) testing for ingredients used in (i) cosmetics and (ii) other types of products in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and whether she is taking steps to phase out such licences.

Tom Tugendhat: The Animals in Science Regulation Unit has granted seven project licences, or amendments to licences, that are currently active, that specifically authorise the testing on animals of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics under the REACH regulations.A project licence authorises a programme of work within which the procedures are performed. Data are not collected on the specific numbers of animals used for individual tests.The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of animals in scientific procedures. The statistics can be found at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statisticsThe Government is engaging with the relevant companies to review and determine a way forward on the remaining active licences.

Refugees: Sudan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support Sudanese (a) refugees arriving in the UK  and (b) students and other visitors in the UK at the onset of the crisis.

Robert Jenrick: We are proud of our long-standing tradition of welcoming refugees and individuals in need through resettlement schemes and have welcomed over half a million people through safe and legal routes since 2015.The UK currently operates several resettlement schemes which Sudanese nationals may be eligible for, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Community Sponsorship Scheme. However, the UK had finite resources and is so not able to provide tailored humanitarian routes in every circumstance.

Home Office: Departmental Responsibilities

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish its customer service operations data for the first quarter of 2023.

Robert Jenrick: Customer service operations data covering MP correspondence, customer complaints, and customer satisfaction was published as part of the quarterly Home Office Migration Transparency data release on 25 May 2023 at www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people eligible for the Bereaved Partner Concession who have been unable to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain due to the cost of the application in each of the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has not made any assessment of the number of people who are eligible for the Bereaved Partner Concession but are unable to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain due to the cost.

Asylum: Sudan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to establish a Sudanese resettlement scheme to provide a safe and legal route for Sudanese citizens seeking asylum in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees and providing protection to those in need. Since 2015, we have offered a place to over half a million individuals seeking safety in the UK.The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing resettlement schemes which include the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. While our safe and legal routes are some of the most generous anywhere, we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to come to the UK.The UK has no plans to establish a designated resettlement scheme for Sudanese refugees. We will however continue to provide safe and legal routes to the UK for those that require it.

Asylum: Hong Kong

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the asylum processing system for Hong Kong citizens.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. There have been a total of 139,144 grants of out of country BN(O) visas and a total of 27,276 grants of in country BN(O) visas since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of March 2023.All asylum claims are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with published policy including those raised by Hong Kong nationals.

Immigration Controls: Equality

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish an equality impact assessment on the policies in her Written Ministerial Statement of 23 May 2023 entitled Immigration update, HCWS800.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence she has had with Scottish Ministers on the her immigration update.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence she has had with universities in Scotland on her immigration update.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what evidence her Department holds to support the existence of unscrupulous education agents supporting inappropriate applications from international students.

Robert Jenrick: The package of measures we have introduced to reform the student route strikes the right balance between protecting the economic benefits students can bring to the UK whilst meeting the Government’s commitment to lower net migration.We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms.We regularly engage with a range of organisations to understand potential policy impacts, including with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government. The Devolved Governments were informed of the publication of the Written Ministerial Statement on 23 May by way of a letter from Home Office Ministers.The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests. and The Department for Education will lead the review of education agents.We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Asylum: Housing

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to engage with (a) local authorities and (b) other relevant stakeholders on locations which are being considered for vessels to house asylum seekers to be berthed.

Robert Jenrick: We engage with relevant local authorities and other key local stakeholders before making a decision whether to proceed.

Passports: Applications

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the processing of any passport applications has been paused following the decision in Roehrig v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2023).

Robert Jenrick: On 24 May we introduced the British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill which will resolve the matter raised and allow HMPO to issue passports to these individuals. HMPO have written to affected customers and will keep them updated.

Asylum: Hotels

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of moving asylum seekers to different hotels on the disruption to an individual's or family's daily routine; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The overriding principle when allocating accommodation is that it is offered on a ‘no choice basis’, in line with our Allocation of Accommodation policy.Caseworkers may receive requests to provide accommodation in a particular location due to exceptional circumstances. The Home Office’s policy in dealing with such requests is set out in the Allocation of Accommodation policy - Allocation of accommodation (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Asylum: Hotels

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to take steps to avoid moving asylum seekers from a specific hotel or location where a (a) health professional, (b) teacher and (c) other service providers supports an individual remaining at an exiting location.

Robert Jenrick: The overriding principle when allocating accommodation is that it is offered on a ‘no choice basis’, in line with our Allocation of Accommodation policy.Caseworkers may receive requests to provide accommodation in a particular location due to exceptional circumstances. The Home Office’s policy in dealing with such requests is set out in the Allocation of Accommodation policy - Allocation of accommodation (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Asylum: Housing

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Peel Ports Group Ltd on proposals to house asylum seekers in the Wirral Waters development in the River Mersey.

Robert Jenrick: In order to address the significant pressure on the asylum accommodation system, Home Office officials have had discussions with organisations across the UK to identify suitable locations for accommodation.

Migrants: Health Services

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value is of Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fees paid by (a) international students and (b) the dependents of international students each year since the inception of the IHS.

Robert Jenrick: It is not possible to provide route specific information about IHS values as the data held in the IHS system is not directly linked to Home Office case-working systems.

Refugees: Sudan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of Sudanese refugees in Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency.

Robert Jenrick: We are unable to provide the requested information in the Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency, as it is not held in a reportable format and would require a manual search through individual records.

Asylum: Sudan

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have been received from displaced Sudanese citizens in the last three months.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications raised by nationality can be found in table Asy_D01 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending March 2023. Data for the year ending June 2023 will be published on 24 August 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Domestic Abuse

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, how many Domestic Violence Protection (a) Orders and (b) Notices were issued in each year since 2014.

Miss Sarah Dines: His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICRFS) collect DVPN/O data and this has been published annually by the ONS here Domestic abuse in England and Wales - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) for 2016-2018 and Domestic abuse and the criminal justice system - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) for annual data since 2019.Prior to 2017 data was published directly by HMICFRS here PEEL assessments data - His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk) with 2015 being the first year the data was published. In 2015 only data on Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) are available. Not all police forces could provide data to HMICFRS in each data year and so the figures in the below table may underestimate the number of DVPOs and Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs) granted. Data published by HMICFRS was published in 12-month periods from July-June. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication tracks DVPO/Ns issued in a 12-month period from April-March. A breakdown of these figures can be seen in the below table. Table 1: Number of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Notices issued YearDVPOs issuedDVPNs issuedHMICFRS published - 12 months leading to June 30th20153,813-20163,7064,358ONS published - 12 months leading to March 31st20173,6984,01720184,8784,21920195,8594,34920206,2674,46820217,99510,046202210,16711,336

Police: Workplace Pensions

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of serving police officers that have opted out of the police pension scheme.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not publish information on the number of serving police officers that have opted out of the police pension scheme.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of serving police officers in England and Wales, on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The Home Office also provides a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only), as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, in the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistical bulletin.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animals: Customs

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s inspections regime at (a) the Port of Dover and (b) other UK ports for animals suspected of contravening regulations on (i) smuggling and (ii) biosecurity.

Mark Spencer: The inspections that take place at Dover, as well as other UK ports, are part of a broader end to end risk and or intelligence based import regime including official veterinary certification from exporting countries, Welfare in Transport Regulations and other regulatory frameworks that are used to manage biosecurity risks and the welfare of animals entering the country. These regulatory frameworks are based on current risk levels and can change if disease risk levels change.

Avian Influenza

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of potential risks of pets and domestic animals encountering dead birds that have contracted avian influenza.

Mark Spencer: While avian influenza viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. Findings of influenza of avian origin in mammals are uncommon and there is no evidence to suggest an increased risk to non-avian wildlife. The main risk to non-avian pets is from eating or chewing on dead wild birds or from feeding them raw poultry, gamebird, wildfowl or other wild bird meat with an unknown provenance. Pets should not be allowed to feed on or play with infected or potentially infected sick or dead birds. While there is a small risk to cats if they catch wild birds which are infected, common garden birds are considered a lower risk of being infected with avian influenza than ducks, geese, swans and gulls. Infection of mammals including pets with influenza of avian origin is notifiable; failure to report suspicion of infection or detection of influenza of avian origin in mammals is an offence. Further information on the case definition for influenza of avian origin and reporting requirements in mammals including pets can be found in our Influenza A (H5N1) infection in mammals: suspect case definition and diagnostic testing criteria guidance. The Animal and Plant Health Agency carries out year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols. Members of the public are encouraged to report findings of dead wild birds using the new online reporting system or by calling the Defra helpline (03459 33 55 77).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were employed by her Department to work on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Mark Spencer: Defra, alongside the wider Civil Service, is committed to a truly diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve. Defra employs a team of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) experts to realise this commitment, ensuring we employ and retain talented staff, while meeting our statutory obligations and delivering value for the taxpayer. The proportion has been calculated based on full-time roles as employed at the end of each calendar year, where the individual is formally employed to support delivery of the Defra group and Civil Service EDI strategy: Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These roles are employed within Defra. However, they support and enable EDI delivery into the following executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies: Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Natural England and Environment Agency.  In postAdditional on payrollRoles in post as of 31st December 20218  Roles in post as of 31st December 202271 Maternity Leave2 Career Break

Hemp: Licensing

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on licensing process of growing hemp.

Mark Spencer: No Ministerial discussions have taken place to date. However, there is a strong working relationship between Defra and the Home Office at official level, and topics such as the licensing regime for industrial hemp, for which the Home Office has responsibility, are regularly discussed.

Poultry

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has plans to support egg producers (a) affected by avian influenza and (b) generally.

Mark Spencer: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the unprecedented challenges the industry, including the egg sector, has faced in the past few years. Defra has been working closely with the egg sector and has acted where appropriate in response to the recent unprecedented avian Influenza (AI) outbreak. We announced changes to the AI compensation scheme on 28 October 2022 by allowing compensation to be paid for farmers from the outset of planned culling rather than at the end. This allowed Defra to provide swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures and give farmers earlier certainty about entitlements to compensation. We also granted a concession to the marketing standards rules for the labelling of free-range eggs from poultry that have been housed under an AI Prevention Zone with mandatory housing measures for longer than the 16-week period for which an automatic derogation applies.   More widely, the Government has put in place a number of measures which the egg industry has been able to access, including cuts to VAT and fuel duty and support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. In December 2022 I hosted an egg industry roundtable which brought together representatives of the egg supply chain from across the UK. The Roundtable focused on addressing the challenges that the sector had been facing due to the increase in input costs caused by the war in Ukraine. The meeting was productive with a clear willingness from all parties to address issues affecting the supply chain. At the recent No 10 Food Summit, I announced that we would be undertaking a supply chain fairness review of the egg sector. We continue to keep the egg sector under constant review including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and our ongoing regular engagement with sector stakeholders.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to curb the spread of avian influenza to minimise impact on businesses.

Mark Spencer: Defra’s approach to avian influenza prevention and control is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. To help stop the spread of avian influenza, Avian Influenza Prevention Zones (AIPZs) are in force across the UK. This means it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers (whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease. The mandatory housing measures that were lifted on 17 April 2023 together with the enhanced biosecurity measures required by the AIPZ have been vital in protecting flocks across the country from avian influenza. In addition, where infection in poultry or other captive birds does occur, swift and humane culling of birds on infected premises coupled with good biosecurity are used to prevent the amplification of avian influenza and subsequent environmental contamination and to reduce the risk of disease spread from infected premises. Together, the Government and bird keepers must do everything we can to keep disease out of kept bird flocks. We all have a shared responsibility to ensure that if disease occurs it is diagnosed early, that good management practices ensure that the risk of further spread is minimised, the outbreak is controlled, and disease is eradicated. Scrupulous biosecurity is the most effective method of disease control available and all bird keepers should apply enhanced measures at all times to prevent the risk of future outbreaks.

Food: Waste Disposal

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to commence the measures in the Environment Act 2021 on the collection of food waste.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has consulted on measures included in the Environment Act 2021 to increase consistency in recycling, including commencement dates for the requirements under the Act for the mandatory collection of food waste from all households and businesses in England. Further details will be announced within the response to this consultation, which will be published in due course.

Packaging: Recycling

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to incentivise the reuse of packaging.

Rebecca Pow: Under the current packaging producer responsibility regime businesses that use reusable packaging are required to meet recycling obligations the first time this packaging is placed on the market.Where the packaging has a life of at least four years, the business may discharge its obligation in relation to that packaging in four equal instalments over four years commencing in the year in which that packaging is first used. This will also apply under the new extended packaging producer regime.In addition businesses using reusable household packaging will only be required to pay disposal cost fees the first time the packaging is used. In the Government Response to the consultation on extended producer responsibility published in March 2022 we stated we would consider other measures to encourage the use of reusable packaging with the intention of introducing these in 2025.

Air Pollution: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on reducing air pollution in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield in each of the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in the capital and has devolved powers under the Environment Act 1995 allowing him to require London boroughs to take action to address local air pollution. The provision of funding to tackle air pollution is also devolved to the Mayor of London. Additionally, Defra’s annual Air Quality Grant is open to all English councils. Under the grant, councils can submit bids for projects to help them develop and implement locally targeted air quality measures. In 2023, London Borough of Enfield Council, which includes the Enfield North Constituency, received £223,500 to fund a project reducing pollution outside schools.

Poultry: Avian Influenza

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with food producers on the impact of avian influenza on (a) poultry producers and (b) egg producers.

Mark Spencer: The Government continues to work closely with the poultry industry to tackle the unprecedented outbreak of avian influenza which has been affecting the UK. Defra Officials and Ministers in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Food Standards Agency and devolved administration representatives have met regularly throughout the outbreak with industry bodies including the British Egg Industry Council, British Poultry Council, British Free Range Egg Producers Association and the Game Farmers Association in addition to individual producers representing the breadth of the poultry sector. We are continuing to keep the market situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, and our ongoing engagement with industry stakeholders.

Biodiversity

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the pilot habitat bank sites.

Trudy Harrison: We are introducing mandatory biodiversity net gain for most new development from November 2023. The policy aims to leave biodiversity in a measurably better state than before the development has commenced. Developers can meet their net gain requirements on-site, off-site or as a last resort by purchasing statutory credits from the Government. The statutory credit scheme is not seeking to create habitat banks. Habitat banks are where providers in the private sector create or enhance habitat in advance of selling the units to developers. Habitat created or enhanced after 30 January 2020 will be eligible, provided it meets the other requirements for biodiversity net gain units. We want to encourage habitat banking to allow habitat enhancements to be delivered before development takes place. Revenue from statutory credit sales will be invested by Natural England on behalf of Defra’s Secretary of State in strategic habitat creation and enhancement projects which deliver long-term environmental benefits. Natural England ran a three-year pilot for credit scheme investment. This ended in March 2023 with five projects being funded through investment readiness. A formal assessment has not been made but initial learnings are being used to design the credit scheme and inform similar schemes within Natural England and Defra.

Rivers: Microplastics

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the levels of microplastics in rivers.

Rebecca Pow: In Defra’s recently published Plan for Water we said that we are increasing our understanding of the level and extent of microplastics in the water environment, and their impact on humans and wildlife, by developing methods to measure the amount and types of microplastics and microfibres in rivers and sediment. The Environment Agency (EA) does not currently routinely monitor rivers for microplastics. In 2021, Defra, with support from the EA, commissioned a pilot study to develop sampling and analytical protocols for quantifying microplastics in surface waters and sediments. The final report is expected in summer 2023. The findings from the pilot study will inform a microplastics monitoring strategy for river catchments in England. The EA is currently working with water companies to secure funding through the Water Industry National Environment Programme for the monitoring of microplastics from wastewater treatment processes that contain plastic media. This will help us gain a better understanding of the release of microplastics from wastewater treatment processes to rivers. Additionally, biosolids derived from wastewater treatment will be investigated to understand if microplastics are released when the biosolids are applied to land.

Food: Labelling

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on supermarket products.

Mark Spencer: In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the potential impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK. Based on the evidence provided, Defra is continuing to explore options for improving and expanding mandatory animal welfare labelling, covering both domestic and imported products.

Biodiversity

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of biodiversity offsetting frameworks.

Trudy Harrison: We are introducing mandatory biodiversity net gain for most new development from November 2023. The policy aims to leave biodiversity in a measurably better state than before the development has commenced. In order for developers to calculate a measurable uplift in biodiversity value, they will need to use the biodiversity metric calculation tool. The tool measures losses and gains in biodiversity by generating 'biodiversity units'. Developments can see whether they will achieve 10% net gain by comparing the baseline biodiversity units to the post-development units.A metric allows the biodiversity impact of a development to be quantified so that the offset requirement, and the value of the compensatory action, can be clearly defined. The original policy intention in 2012 has moved from offsetting losses in biodiversity, towards delivering measurable gains in biodiversity. This was the key driver towards a standardised single metric which needed to be simple but based on sound ecological principles. Offsetting is only considered after the mitigation hierarchy is followed and does not replace existing policies or protections. Our recently published Nature Market Framework sets out our vision to hardwire integrity and principles into the market framework to build trust and confidence so markets can grow at pace in line with our increased environmental ambition.

Peat

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on (a) sales of commercial peat and (b) the amount of peat dug from the ground for commercial purposes in the past 12 months.

Trudy Harrison: The latest published data is for sales in 2021. In 2021, 1,648,057 cubic metres of peat was sold in the UK for use in horticulture (excluding mushroom production), of this 624,131 cubic metres were extracted in the UK. The Horticultural Trades Association will shortly be publishing the results of the joint Defra and industry funded monitoring round for 2022.

Climate Change

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has conducted research in the last five years on the impact of climate change on the (a) agricultural, (b) manufacturing and (c) construction industries.

Mark Spencer: We are the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions and we have cleaned up our power sector, cut emissions faster than any G7 country while growing the economy, championed climate change adaptation and set a strong example for other countries to follow. (a) Adopting best practice across all agricultural systems has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the farming sector. The Government is engaged with a number of initiatives to better understand and respond to the effects of climate change on agriculture, including research on food supply resilience in relation to climate change and adaptation measures through our work with the Met Office Hadley Centre Food Farming and Natural Environment service (up to £600k over three years). We also plan to develop future publicly funded research and innovation further. This includes investments under the Farming Innovation Programme, a £270 million innovation programme which aims to drive up productivity and enhance environmental sustainability, enabling us to adapt to climate change more effectively, while improving levels of food security. (b) and (c) Defra has not conducted research in the last five years on the impact of climate change on the manufacturing or construction industries. The Office for National Statistics’ “Business insights and impact on the UK economy” survey, Wave 82, published on 18 May 2023 provides manufacturing and construction sector views on the impact of climate change on their business (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/datasets/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy) and asks the following questions: Which of the following actions, if any, has your business taken to protect the environment?Which of the following actions, if any, have you taken to reduce your business's carbon emissions?Is your business concerned about the impact climate change may have on the business? In Wave 59, published on 30 June 2022, the following question, which is now discontinued, was asked: Have any of the following been used to assess the impact of climate change on your business's ability to operate?

Animal Housing: Regulation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential risks to animals from unregulated animal sanctuaries.

Trudy Harrison: The Action Plan for Animal Welfare includes commitments to pursuing the licensing of animal sanctuaries and rescue and rehoming centres including for cats, dogs and horses. Defra has been engaging with relevant organisations to monitor trends in the sector and to understand the possible impacts of regulating the sector. Any proposals to bring forward licensing regulations will be subject to a consultation.

Bracken

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2022 to Question 28455 on Bracken: Weedkillers, whether her Department has put control measures in place to help protect (a) grazing land and (b) sensitive habitats from bracken in 2023.

Mark Spencer: An application for emergency authorisation of the use of Asulox as bracken control for the summer period of 2023 has been received. This application is being considered and decisions on whether to grant emergency authorisation in each of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be made as soon as possible.

Avian Influenza

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of avian influenza on food (a) prices and (b) availability.

Mark Spencer: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the unprecedented challenges the industry has faced in the past few years.The UK egg and poultry industries operate in an open market. The value of poultry products and egg commodities is established by those in the supply chain. The impact of avian influenza on the price of food products has been limited with the increases experienced recently by these sectors related to a range of other factors, primarily due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the UK, there have been 186 cases of Avian Influenza (AI) since 1 October 2022. 155 of these have been in England and all have been of the HPAI H5N1 strain. Since 1 October 2022, 5.3 million birds have died or been culled and disposed of for disease control purposes. With approximately, 20 million birds slaughtered every week for human consumption, the impact on the availability of poultry and eggs due to AI has therefore been limited. We continue to keep the market situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and our on-going and regular engagement with sector stakeholders.

Avian Influenza: Vaccination

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made on delivering an avian influenza vaccine.

Mark Spencer: Vaccination of poultry and captive birds against avian influenza, excluding those in licensed zoos in England, is not currently permitted. However preventative vaccination for avian influenza may be an option for the future but is unlikely to be a viable option for the 2023/24 high risk season. Defra established in February 2023 a cross government and industry task force to explore potential for use of vaccination as a preventive measure for avian influenza. In parallel to the work of the avian influenza vaccination task force Defra in conjunction with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for their utility in preventing and responding to avian influenza outbreaks as they are put forward for market authorisation by vaccine manufacturers. Any future decisions on disease control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific and ornithological evidence, and veterinary advice.

Avian Influenza

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the economic impact of avian influenza on the poultry sector and what support her Department provides to (a) poultry farmers and (b) others affected.

Mark Spencer: We are aware that the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has created challenges for poultry and egg producers. To support poultry producers and others affected by this unprecedented outbreak, on the 28 October 2022 Defra announced new support for the poultry industry to assist farmers and producers with the impacts of avian influenza. This includes a change to the existing avian influenza compensation scheme allowing us to provide swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures and give earlier certainty about entitlement to compensation. We also introduced market support measures to assist businesses impacted by avian influenza. These included allowing seasonal poultry producers to slaughter birds, freeze them and then sell them as defrosted products during the period 28 November to 31 December 2022 and concessions to the labelling of free-range eggs from poultry housed under avian influenza mandatory housing measures for longer than the 16-week period for which an automatic derogation applies. We continue to monitor the impacts of avian influenza on the poultry and allied sectors.

Flood Control: Bolton South East

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has allocated funding to flood defences on Riverside Drive in Bolton South East constituency.

Rebecca Pow: The River Irwell at Kearsley Flood Risk Management Scheme remains a priority project for the Environment Agency and its partners, given the devastating floods which affected the lives of residents in 2015 and 2020. The Environment Agency is working hard with consultants and contractors to identify a viable engineering option to reduce the risk of flooding in Kearsley. £2.3 million in contributions have been identified. The breakdown of funding to date is a mix of Defra Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid (GiA), £750,000 Local Levy, £350,000 from the Department for Education and £1.2 million in Defra Other Government Departments GiA funding. However, full costs and funding cannot be confirmed until the preferred option is understood and costed. Discussions with the local authority, Bolton Council, regarding support for the project are ongoing. The Environment Agency will continue to explore other potential sources of partnership funding.

Fishing Vessels: Monitoring

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Marine Management Organisation on increasing the number of vessel monitoring systems approved for use by fishing vessels under 12 meters in length.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Marine Management Organisation on the potential cost to the public purse of having one Inshore Vessel Monitoring System approved for use for fishing vessels under 12 meters in length.

Mark Spencer: Defra Ministers and officials have had regular contact with the Marine Management Organisation on the delivery of iVMS devices to under 12m vessels in England.The MMO announced the revocation of ‘Type Approval’ for two iVMS devices (Maritime Systems Ltd MS44 device and from the Satlink Nano) on the 19 May 2023. However, two devices (Fulcrum Nemo and Succorfish SC2), retain ‘Type Approval’.All fishers are being contacted directly to make them aware of how this affects them. Fishers will be financially supported to secure suitable, replacement devices.

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Port of Dover

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Animal and Plant Health Agency staff are based at the Port of Dover on average each day in 2023; and what facilities those staff have to investigate vehicles containing animals suspected of contravening regulations on (a) smuggling and (b) biosecurity in (i) the Port of Dover and (ii) the area surrounding the port.

Mark Spencer: On an average day in 2023, 12 Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) staff are based at the Port of Dover working across 2 shifts. They also cover weekends, bank holidays and nights by on-call duty, responding to referrals from carriers or UK Border Force. Targeted checks are also performed outside of the routine shifts when information gathered suggest illegal landing(s) are suspected. APHA have use of an office building within Dover Port. APHA share other facilities within each Port to complete inspections on vehicles. The inspection lanes and sheds are muti-agency facilities which APHA has full access of. APHA do not own any kennel facilities to detain non-compliant animals, these are provided by private businesses in the form of kennelling and APHA approved quarantines.

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Port of Dover

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions have officials working for the Animal and Plant Health Agency at the Port of Dover have (a) stopped and (b) detained vehicles containing animals suspected of contravening regulations on (i) smuggling and (ii) biosecurity in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Mark Spencer: There is no data held on the total number of vehicles stopped and inspected in Dover, Eurotunnel, Harwich or Newhaven by the Dover APHA team. Over the last 12 months, 218 vehicles have had 607 animals detained following an inspection by APHA at Dover Port, Eurotunnel or Harwich Port. 172 of the animals detained were for biosecurity contraventions – Rabies (Importation of, Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974. The remaining 435 were detained for other reasons including non-compliance under the Welfare of Animals (transport) (England) order 2006 and Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011. 55 animals (out of the 607) were detained for true smuggling (concealment). No vehicles have been detained by APHA. APHA powers do not allow vehicles to be detained / seized.

Question

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has any statutory responsibilities for highly-protected marine areas in Scottish waters that are outside the limit of the territorial sea.

Trudy Harrison: The Scottish Government has the powers to designate MPAs and HPMAs in the Scottish inshore waters (up to 12 nautical miles from the coast). The designation of MPAs and HPMAs in offshore water (more than 12 nautical miles from the coast) are reserved to the UK Government.

Department for Business and Trade

EU Law

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 180243 on EU Law, whether her Department created (a) submissions to these EU initiatives and (b) a list of regulations that the Government had assessed as meriting deregulation.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department for Business and Trade does not centrally hold documents relating to negotiations at EU level over reducing costs of draft EU legislation. As outlined in our policy paper, Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy, this Government is scrutinising the stock of legislation we have inherited from the EU and our wider regulations to ensure red tape does not stop businesses from growing or competing. We have already announced that we will make improvements to employment law that could save businesses around £1bn a year, while safeguarding the rights of workers, and will set out further plans to reduce burdens on business and citizens through the course of this year.

Minerals: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre on (a) the amount of critical mineral deposits available in Wales and (b) the value of those deposits.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the implications for her policies of the report by the British Geological Survey for the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre entitled Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK, published on 17 April 2023.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” was a study undertaken by CMIC, a programme sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report delivers on the Critical Minerals Strategy’s commitment to collate UK geoscientific data and identify areas of geological potential for critical mineral extraction. It is a preliminary assessment, and its findings do not mean prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. TheGovernment is working with the British Geological Survey to understand next steps and will engage with Devolved Administrations when appropriate.

Scotland: Whisky

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what representations her Department has made on tariffs on Scotch Whisky since 2021; on to countries.

Nigel Huddleston: Whisky was the UK’s largest food and drink export in 2022 valued at £6.4bn. Negotiating tariff liberalisation for UK goods with FTA partners is a priority for HMG.By successfully concluding our accession to CPTPP, we have secured elimination over time of Malaysian tariffs of around 80% on whisky. In addition, we removed the tariff applied by Australia on UK whisky in our recent FTA, which recently came into force on 31 May 2023.We are also currently negotiating FTAs with more markets, such as India, where we are also seeking better access for whisky.

Companies: Misrepresentation

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of mechanisms to enable companies to remove (a) potentially defamatory reviews and (b) threatening comments from online review sites.

Kevin Hollinrake: The government introduced in Parliament the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill on 25 April which includes a delegated power to amend a list of automatically unfair practices set out in the Bill. Government plans to address fake and misleading reviews by adding these practices to that list of banned practices, following consultation this year. This will give greater clarity to business and consumers and, where fake reviews or misleading reviews are posted, allow enforcers to take effective action quickly. The threatening communications offence in the Online Safety Bill, will capture communications which convey a serious threat of harm to a likely audience. This includes communications such as a threat to life, rape, or serious injury; or causing serious financial harm.

Manufacturing Industries: Job Creation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to increase manufacturing jobs in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is committed to making the UK the best location in the world for manufacturing and recognising the vital role it plays in the UK economy, including job creation. Advanced manufacturing has been identified by my Rt Hon. Friend the Chancellor as one of five key sectors that will be the engine to drive future growth in the UK and we are enhancing our manufacturing base through programmes in strategically important sub-sectors such as aerospace, automotive and life sciences and have committed nearly £650 million to fund the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres.

Iron and Steel: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to develop a strategy to help the steel industry transition to net zero.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The 2021 Net Zero Strategy reaffirms our commitment to continue to work with the steel industry on decarbonisation. We continue to support the sector in its decarbonisation efforts and to consider the implications of the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee; to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’. Decarbonisation pathways will be a commercial decision for individual companies. We are working closely with companies to support them as they make those commercial decisions.

Apprentices: Cost of Living

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of the National Minimum Wage Apprentice Rate on the ability of apprentices to afford (a) housing and (b) food in (i) Putney constituency and (ii) the UK.

Kevin Hollinrake: On 1 April 2023, the Apprentice National Minimum Wage (ANMW) rate increased by 9.7% to £5.28. This is an above inflation increase and worth over £850 a year before tax for a full-time apprentice.The ANMW is designed and set at a rate that acknowledges the particular costs for employers and benefits for young people involved in the provision of apprenticeships and which does not adversely affect apprenticeship opportunities in the labour market. The Government has published a full impact assessment on gov.uk that assesses the regional impacts of the National Minimum Wage increases.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Deep Sea Mining

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May to Question 184795 on Deep Sea Mining, what regulatory safeguards would be sufficient for the Government to support deep sea mining exploitation at the International Seabed Authority Council and Assembly.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is fully engaged in the ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council and Assembly in Kingston, Jamaica, to agree deep sea mining exploitation regulations.The UK's policy is not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and strong enforceable environmental Regulations, Standards and Guidelines have been developed by the ISA and are in place. The UK's approach is both precautionary and conditional.

Indian High Commission: Tourism

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) British-based officials or (b) officials from the High Commission in Delhi have attended the G20 Third Tourism Working Group Meeting in Kashmir.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The G20 Third Tourism Working Group Meeting in Srinagar was attended by a delegation of UK officials based in India.

India: Human Rights

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if officials in his Department will make representations to their Indian counterparts on human rights and self determination in Kashmir at the tourism meeting of the G20 in Srinagar.

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Government of India on the potential impact of security arrangements associated with the G20 tourism meeting in May 2023 on people in Kashmir.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The G20 Third Tourism Working Group Meeting in Srinagar was attended by a delegation of UK officials based in India. This decision was in line with the high priority the UK places on the G20 as a forum to address pressing global challenges. Prior to attending, safety and security considerations were among factors that were taken into account.The UK Government's position is clear that any allegation of human rights abuse is deeply concerning and should be investigated thoroughly, promptly, and transparently. Our long-standing position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, considering the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

USA: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the United States on ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Leo Docherty: The UK frequently calls for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which requires that all Annex II States - China, DPRK (North Korea), Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and USA - sign and ratify the CTBT. On 27 February, I [Minister Docherty] called for the entry into force of the CTBT in a speech at the Conference on Disarmament. On 6 April, the UK and France issued a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of joint ratification of the CTBT including our call for the universalisation of the Treaty and for all States who had not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty.

Ukraine: Ambulance Services

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many ambulances the Government has supplied to Ukraine since May 2022; and how many of those ambulances were manufactured in (a) the UK and (b) what other country.

Leo Docherty: In response to the Government of Ukraine's requests for assistance, the UK has provided 96 non-armoured ambulances (20 NHS and 76 new). The ambulances selected are in line with the priorities and specifications set out by Ukraine's Ministry of Health in their dialogue with officials in the FCDO. The donation of ambulances was coordinated across a number of NHS Trusts, who donated individual vehicles and the country of manufacture of the ambulance was not centrally recorded.

Mohammad Ghobadloo

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, If he will make representations to his Iranian counterpart on reversing the decision to execute Mohammad Ghobadloo; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstance and every country, especially Iran. We raise human rights at all appropriate opportunities, including with the Iranian Embassy in London and through our Ambassador in Tehran. We last raised our objections to the death penalty on 17 May. On 9 January and 8 December, the Foreign Secretary ordered the summoning of Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK, to protest Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure Iran is held to account on the world stage, including through the establishment of a UN Fact Finding Mission.

USA: Immigration

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is providing support to (a) Panama and (b) Colombia to help tackle changes in the level in migrants using the Darién Gap to enter the United States.

David Rutley: The UK is providing support to Panama through a £300,000 START Fund humanitarian response programme in response to a spike in cross-border migration between Colombia and Panama. The UK is the largest donor to the global START Fund, a key element of the FCDO's humanitarian response toolkit, allowing rapid funding to enable Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to scale up activities in crisis situations. According to official Panamanian government figures, in the first three months of 2023 almost 80,0000 people crossed into Panama via the Darién, five times the number recorded the same time last year.

Argentina: Lithium

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Argentina on Argentina's supply of lithium to the UK.

David Rutley: Securing a sustainable supply of lithium globally is crucial to delivering Net Zero. Cooperation on lithium therefore forms an important part of our engagement with Argentina. During my visit to Argentina earlier this year, I (the Minister for Americas and the Caribbean, David Rutley MP) discussed the UK's role as a key scientific, academic and economic partner in lithium exploration in meetings with the Argentine Vice-Foreign Minister and Energy Secretary, building on exchanges at senior official and expert level. We want constructive collaboration on lithium to continue to benefit both the UK and Argentina and regret the recent decision of the Government of Argentina to withdraw from the 2016 Joint Communiqué.

Development Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Chapter 1, paragraph 4 of the UK Government’s Strategy for International Development, published in May 2022, what steps his Department plans to take to mobilise up to £8 billion of UK-backed financing a year by 2025; and how much of that £8 billion the his Department plans to mobilise from the private sector for each of those years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: A range of HMG instruments contribute towards plans to mobilise up to £8 billion of UK backed financing a year by 2025 - including our development finance instruments and centres of expertise. We have not set specific private sector mobilisation targets to remain flexible and tailor our offer to the investment needs of our partner countries.

Ministry of Defence

War Widows: Lump Sum Payments

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £87,500 lump-sum payment will war widows who have remarried or started cohabiting receive after taxation; and if he will make it his policy to either make the payments tax-exempt or increase the level of the payments so that each recipient receives £87,500 after tax.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There is nothing we can do to bring a loved one back, and no amount of money will ever change that. This payment is not intended to put a value on a widow’s loss. But this is a meaningful amount in recognition that remarriage or cohabiting with a new partner does not erase the bereavement. The rules for this recognition payment include that it is taxable. This was taken into consideration when the figure was set at £87,500. The amount received after taxation will depend on individual circumstances. Ministry of Defence and Treasury officials are working on the details and rollout.

Reserve Forces: Finance

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding was allocated to the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations and Defence Relationship Management for entertaining reservist employers in the financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence does not allocate any funding specifically for the purpose of entertaining Reservist employers. However, Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations (RFCAs) and Defence Relationship Management (DRM) do run a number of events both nationally and regionally at which hospitality is offered, including buffet lunches and hot/cold drinks as appropriate. This ranges from formal events such as the Partnering with Defence Conference in London, where catered breaks and lunch are provided, through to offering participants on ‘unit experience’ visits with a ration-pack lunch. Regional funds allocated across the 13 RFCAs include an element for ‘Employer Support’. This budget line covers a number of costs including event hospitality, entertainment, venue hire and advertisement. It would exceed the disproportionate cost limit for a Parliamentary Question to investigate every event across the period in question to separate out the relevant elements; for this reason the figures provided below show the total sums for employer support activity where there was an element of hospitality and an estimate of the element attributable to hospitality. Information for Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 is not provided as this remains subject to discussion and may be subject to change. The figures for budget allocation where there was an element of Reservist employer hospitality are shown below: RFCAs Total Budget for events containing a hospitality elementAttributable to hospitality (estimated)FY 2021-22 £94,367£30,487FY 2022-23 £161,603£44,669  DRM Total Budget for events containing a hospitality elementAttributable to hospitality (estimated)FY 2021-22 £208,873£75,631FY 2022-23 £275,077£141,998** Cost growth here directly attributable to:- increasing success of Employer Recognition Scheme Gold awards, necessitating an increase from four events in 2021-22 to nine regional events in 2022-23.- increasing number of Armed Forces Covenant signatories and associated signing ceremonies.

RFA Proteus

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of when the new subsea protection vessel formerly known as RFA Proteus will enter service with the Royal Navy.

James Cartlidge: RFA PROTEUS is the new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship. It is a matter of longstanding policy that the In Service Date for ships are not released for operational security reasons.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been relocated to the UK from hotels in Islamabad under the Afghan Relocations and Assistant Policy in (a) March, (b) April and (c) May 2023.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence continues to use commercial flights to bring individuals to the UK from a number of third countries. The number of individuals who have relocated to the UK exclusively from Pakistan under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) are set out in the table below: MonthNumber of ARAP individuals relocated to the UK from PakistanMarch 20231April 20230As of 24 May 20231

EU Defence Policy

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the Administrative Arrangement for the admission of the UK to the military mobility element of the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation upon completion.

James Heappey: The UK's Administrative Arrangement to join the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) military mobility project would be a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).We will not be publishing the Administrative Arrangement, as it is not Ministry of Defence policy to publish MOUs because they often deal with classified military or technical matters.

EU Defence Policy

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the Administrative Arrangement for the UK's admission to the military mobility element of the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation to be concluded.

James Heappey: The Military Mobility Project delivered through the European Union's Permanent Structural Corporation (PESCO) is an important part of enabling Allies' response to the crisis in continental Europe. The Military Mobility Project coordinates infrastructure development and other logistics measures that will allow NATO to move forces more quickly across the continent. The UK would be joining the US, Canada and Norway who are already part of the project.The Council of the European Union gave political approval for our application on 15 November 2022, and we are now negotiating the technical terms of our participation in the form of an Administrative Arrangement. These negotiations will conclude once the UK and the EU Member States that participate in the project reach agreement.

Ukraine: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what types of unmanned aerial vehicles his Department has provided to the Ukrainian armed forces.

James Heappey: We have delivered thousands of uncrewed aerial systems to Ukraine, including logistics, loitering munitions and reconnaissance types. For security reasons, we will not confirm the types or exact number of aerial systems supplied.

UK Border Force: Military Aid

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received a Military Aid to Civilian Authority request from the Home Office for Armed Forces personnel to cover for striking Border Force staff in summer 2023.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has received a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) request from the Home Office. Defence has reviewed this request and will provide military personnel as part of contingency plans to maintain public services and minimise disruption in the event of any industrial action by Border Force staff.Under the MACA process, Defence always stands ready to respond to requests from civil authorities in line with established MACA principles.

Women and Equalities

Question

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether it is her Department's policy to provide additional funding to support disabled candidates standing at the next General Election.

Stuart Andrew: The Equality Act 2010 stipulates that parties must make reasonable adjustments to support disabled candidates and ensure, as far as possible, that they have the same access as non-disabled candidates. Ministers have made clear in letters to parties and Statements to the House that ultimately the responsibility sits with political parties.

STEM Returners Programme

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which employers are participating in the STEM returners programme.

Maria Caulfield: Employer recruitment for the STEM ReCharge programme began in April and potential participants have been engaged through insight events held in Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham. The recruitment of employers will continue until 25 June 2023, and training will commence shortly after.

Equality

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress she has made on delivering the Equality Data Programme.

Maria Caulfield: In January 2023, the results from the Equality Data Programme were published, by the Office for National Statistics, on their website. https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/methodologicalpublications/generalmethodology/onsworkingpaperseries/equalityacrossdifferentareasoflifeintheuk2011to2020 We are continuing to work in partnership with the ONS on the Equality Data Asset. This links different datasets together to build better evidence on what barriers, if any, different people experience.

Equal Pay

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which employers are participating in the pay transparency pilot.

Maria Caulfield: Following the responses to PQs 185706 and 186211, work on pay transparency will now fall within the remit of the new, independent, Inclusion at Work Panel, as part of their role in considering the range of tools and practices which may maximise the benefits of diversity and inclusion. It will be for the Inclusion at Work Panel to decide how best to take forward the work on pay transparency. This includes whether a pilot is the best way to progress this work and if so, what format that should take.

Equality Hub: Staff

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has for (a) staffing levels and (b) team structure in the Equality Hub in the next six months.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many and what proportion of Equality Hub staff worked overtime in each of the last 12 months; and how much overtime was accrued by Equality Hub staff in each of those months.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what consultation she has undertaken on the potential Equality Hub restructure.

Maria Caulfield: The Equality Hub is focused on delivering Ministers’ priorities and we have the necessary resources to do this. As part of the restructure process we consulted with staff, including through a staff engagement panel, and with the unions in line with Cabinet Office policies. We expect the restructure to conclude over the coming month. Regarding overtime, all full time Equality Hub staff are contracted to work 37 hours per week. Overtime is used by exception and requires prior authorisation. In the last 12 months the amount of overtime accrued by staff was minimal, therefore a breakdown per month is not possible to provide.

Treasury

Treasury: Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £25,000 for March 2022, what the nature was of the research carried out by (a) the Bank of England and (b) the Department for Transport for which those organisations were respectively paid (i) £580,000 and (ii) £300,000 on 22 February 2022; and if he will publish summaries of that research.

Gareth Davies: These payments are for successful bids to HMT's Economic Data Innovation Fund. The fund was announced at Budget 2020 to support the development of novel sources of economic data. All summaries of the work carried out using these successful bids for funding are handled directly by the government bodies themselves.

Treasury: Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £25,000 for March 2022, what the nature was of the research carried out by the Office for National Statistics for which that organisation was paid £1,344,290 between 15-22 March 2022 and if he will publish a summary of that research.

Gareth Davies: This payment is for a successful bid to HMT's Economic Data Innovation Fund. The fund was announced at Budget 2020 to support the development of novel sources of economic data. All summaries of the work carried out using these successful bids for funding are handled directly by the government bodies themselves.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department will include natural gas and nuclear in the green taxonomy.

Andrew Griffith: The Government has set out plans to deliver a UK Green Taxonomy – a tool to provide investors with definitional certainty about the green economic activities they are invested in. This will help address risks of greenwashing and support greater investment into key sectors. We will consult on this in Autumn 2023. Nuclear energy has an important role in achieving net zero by 2050 as a crucial source of reliable low carbon energy. The Government has stated its intention to include nuclear in the UK Green Taxonomy, subject to consultation, incentivising private investment in this important technology alongside renewables. We have not yet set out further details of what will or will not be included in the Taxonomy.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether fossil gas power plants will be designated as green in the green taxonomy.

Andrew Griffith: The Government has set out plans to deliver a UK Green Taxonomy – a tool to provide investors with definitional certainty about the green economic activities they are invested in. This will help address risks of greenwashing and support greater investment into key sectors. We will consult on this in Autumn 2023. We have not yet set out further details of what will or will not be included in the Taxonomy.

VAT: Registration

James Wild: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the VAT registration threshold on incentives for small businesses to increase their turnover above that threshold.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Nearly half of businesses that are VAT registered are voluntarily registered under the threshold.Views on the threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment.Following the Office of Tax Simplification report published on 7 November 2017, the Government published a call for evidence on 13 March 2018 inviting views on the effect of the current threshold and what policy options could better incentivise growth. A summary of responses was published at Budget 2018. The responses did not provide a clear option for reform. While the Government continues to keep all taxes under review, it was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.

Home Care Services: Minimum Wage

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2023 to Question 182866 on Home Care Services: Minimum Wage, whether his Department will introduce an action plan on enforcement of the National Minimum Wage including travel time for the home care workforce.

Victoria Atkins: HM Revenue and Customs enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business and Trade. This involves a wide-ranging programme of education and risk led enforcement activity across the whole of UK labour market including social care. All businesses, irrespective of their size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct NMW to their staff.

Theatres: Tax Allowances

Jamie Stone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending Theatre Tax Relief on the Government's levelling up policies.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading creative industries. That is why at Spring Budget 2023, the Government went further to support theatres through the creative industry tax reliefs. To continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors, the Government has announced a 2-year extension to the current 45 per cent (for non-touring productions) and 50 per cent (for touring productions) rates of theatre tax relief (TTR). These rates will now taper to 30 per cent/35 per cent on 1 April 2025 and return to 20 per cent/25 per cent on 1 April 2026. Theatre tax relief is available to qualifying productions in all regions and nations in the UK. The Government published a tax information and impact note at Spring Budget 2023, which sets out details of the policy impacts of the extension of the 45 per cent/50 per cent rates of TTR.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC has not provided a substantive response to the letter from the Hon. Member for Christchurch dated 18th April, HMRC Ref 0013913 PSA.

Victoria Atkins: The correspondence of 18 April 2023 was redirected by HM Treasury to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on 19 April 2023. HMRC replied to the Hon Member on 12 May and 19 May 2023 to provide updates and to advise that they are unable to provide a substantive response until their investigations into the complaint have been completed. HMRC will contact the member again when these investigations have been completed.

Credit: Regulation

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the consultation entitled Regulation of Buy-Now Pay Later: consultation on draft legislation, when he plans to (a) publish the outcome of that consultation and (b) lay any legislation required before Parliament.

Andrew Griffith: The Government is working at pace to bring Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) products into regulation. On 14 February 2023, the Government published a consultation on the draft legislation that will bring BNPL products into FCA regulation in a proportionate way. This consultation closed on 11 April. The Government is now carefully considering stakeholder feedback and is finalising policy positions.

Tax Avoidance: Prosecutions

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many promoters and operators of schemes subject to the Loan Charge have been prosecuted for promoting and operating those schemes.

Victoria Atkins: I refer the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton to the answer I gave on 20 March 2023 to Question UIN 162288 .

Business Rates

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the extent to which business rates applicable to (a) small and (b) large businesses which mainly operate through physical premises adequately reflect their business costs.

Victoria Atkins: The recent revaluation of business rates, which came into effect on 1 April 2023, ensures rateable values, and therefore bills, more accurately reflect current market values. The Government is legislating for more frequent revaluations, from every 5 years to every 3 years, a key stakeholder ask which will permanently make the system fairer and more responsive for all ratepayers. The Government has also announced a package worth £13.6 billion over the next five years to support businesses with the revaluation, including:a freeze to the business rates multiplier for 2023-2024, a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over the next 5 years, meaning all bills are 6 per cent lower than without the freeze;an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops;an Exchequer funded Transitional Relief scheme worth £1.6 billion to protect an estimated 700,000 ratepayers facing bill increases due to increases in rateable value;£500 million of support over the next three years through a new Supporting Small Business scheme. This will cap bill increases to £50 per month for businesses losing some or all of their Small Business or Rural Rate Relief due to the revaluation. Regarding small businesses, the Government has continued its generous Small Business Rate Relief scheme which means over a third of properties (720,000) pay no business rates at all, with an additional 76,000 in the taper benefitting from reduced bills.

Cash Dispensing: Nottingham East

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of cash withdrawal facilities throughout the Nottingham East constituency.

Andrew Griffith: The government recognises that while the transition towards digital payments brings many opportunities, cash continues to be used by many people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups. The government is currently legislating to protect access to cash across the UK as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022. The Bill establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. In recognition of the important role of cash for individuals, the government has tabled an amendment to the Bill that will require the FCA to seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities for holders of personal accounts. The ATM network also plays a critical role in the availability of cash withdrawal facilities. LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has made commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. According to LINK data for March 2023, there were around 39,000 free-to-use ATMs across the UK, including 53 free-to-use ATMs in the constituency of Nottingham East. Further information is available at: https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/

Pensions

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date his Department plans to introduce the new method of calculating cash equivalent transfer value for pension benefits.

John Glen: The government published the outcome of the public service pensions consultation on the methodology used to set the Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience discount rate (SCAPE) on 30 March 2023. As a result, the previous guidance on setting the discount rates for calculating cash equivalent transfer values (CETV) payable by public service pensions schemes was suspended. Subsequently, on 27 April 2023 HM Treasury published new guidance for setting discount rates for calculating transfer values. It is now necessary for the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) to calculate new actuarial factors to be used in the calculation of transfer values. GAD expects to provide these factors to administrators of public service pension schemes, by early summer. Schemes will then be able to carry out the calculations for transfer values. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basis-for-setting-the-discount-rates-for-calculating-cash-equivalent-transfer-values-payable-by-public-service-pension-schemes/basis-for-setting-the-discount-rates-for-calculating-cash-equivalent-transfer-values-payable-by-public-service-pension-schemes

Cost of Living: Young People and Families

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to provide targeted fiscal support to disabled young people and their families, in the context of rises in cost-of-living.

John Glen: The Government provides support to young disabled people primarily through Disability Living Allowance (DLA), as well as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for those aged 16 and over. These benefits provide significant financial support to cover extra costs incurred as a result of a disability and were uprated in line with inflation in April. The Government has also provided further targeted support to those in receipt of disability benefits like DLA and PIP through the Disability Cost of Living Payments. The Government will begin to deliver the second Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from June 20th. This is in addition to the previous Disability Cost of Living Payment, also worth £150, delivered from September 2022. Some family members who provided care to a disabled young person may also be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if they meet the eligibility criteria. This is worth £76.75 per week. Young disabled people and their families have also benefited from other forms of Cost of Living support. This includes the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Council Tax rebate.

Department for Transport

Railways: Tooting

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of train services in the Tooting constituency.

Huw Merriman: My Department and train operating companies monitor demand closely to deliver a timetable which matches passenger needs and provides the right level and consistency of service. The May 2023 timetable changes included an increase from four to five carriages to the hourly service between East Croydon and Watford Junction, which serves Balham station and others in the immediate area. Service provision remains under regular and thorough review.

Parking: Disability

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) local authorities, (b the police and (c) hospitals on the enforcement of rules relating to parking spaces for the disabled.

Mr Richard Holden: Currently, both local authorities and private parking operators providing parking facilities are required under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people and to provide them equal opportunities to access services. In respect of local authority parking, the Secretary of State’s ‘Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities in England on Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions’ sets out the parking enforcement framework for the 98 percent of English local authorities that have acquired civil parking enforcement powers. The police have no powers to enforce parking contraventions within these local authority areas, except at safety-critical pedestrian crossings, and the Department does not issue advice to the police. Local authorities have powers to safeguard parking places for disabled people and the Department has published ‘Blue Badge scheme local authority guidance (England)’. Although off-street private car parks are required to make reasonable adjustments under the above-mentioned equalities legislation, the form those adjustments take are up to individual operators, who can best judge what is appropriate within their car parks.  Often private car park operators provide Blue Badge spaces in their car parks but there is no legal basis for this and, as such, they are essentially advisory. In respect of hospitals, the Department for Health and Social Care guidance ‘NHS car-parking management: environment and sustainability, 2015’ notes the importance of providers enforcing Blue Badge bays and dedicated Blue Badge car parks to ensure their use is not abused by non-Blue Badge holders. Enforcement is a matter for the relevant NHS Trust.

M3 and M4: Safety

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will undertake further works to the M3 and M4 smart motorways to provide additional services and facilities for drivers such as lay-bys.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government recognises the important role that Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) play in providing a safe place for motorists to stop and rest. Government policy on the location of MSAs is detailed in Department for Transport Circular 01/2022 ‘Strategic Road Network and the delivery of sustainable development’. The Government has also committed £390m to a programme to deliver 150 additional Emergency Areas on All Lane Running (ALR) smart motorways over the duration of the second Road Investment Strategy (2020-25).

Electric Vehicles: Noise

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of electric vehicles on the safety of blind and visually impaired pedestrians.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport commissioned research to assess the perceived safety risk from quiet electric vehicles to vision-impaired pedestrians in 2011. This research indicated that electric vehicles had sound levels similar to vehicles propelled by combustion engines above speeds of approximately 12 miles per hour but could be more difficult to detect at lower speeds. Vehicle approval requirements were therefore introduced to mandate sound generators, known as Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS), on new types of quiet electric and hybrid vehicles. AVAS has been required for new vehicles registered from 1 July 2021. The requirements ensure that vehicles that can be operated on electric power only will always produce a specified level of noise below 12 miles per hour and during reversing.

Public Transport: Older People

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with the Mayor of London on the potential merits of reintroducing the concession allowing people aged 60 and over to travel during peak hours.

Mr Richard Holden: The Mayor of London has decided to remove the concession allowing people aged 60+ to travel for free before 9am on weekdays on TfL’s services, and before 9:30am on National Rail services operating in London.

Quad Bikes: Safety Measures

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on requiring roll bars for quad bikes.

Mr Richard Holden: No. Research by the Health and Safety Executive on quadbikes used in the workplace is that Roll Over Protection Systems, which includes roll bars, may lead to an increased risk of injury in the event of an overturn by either preventing the operator from separating from the machine or striking the operator as the machine overturns.

Roads: Bitumens

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of using asphalt to resurface roads on health.

Mr Richard Holden: It is the responsibility of each local highway authority to manage its road network and to decide what materials are used for any resurfacing. These decisions should be based on local needs and priorities. Organisations undertaking works on the highway should have up to date risk assessments and Health and Safety Plans in line with current Health and Safety legislation. The Government encourages the use of warm-mix asphalts to reduce the health and safety risks associated with the production and laying of asphalt at higher temperatures. Warm-mix asphalts reduce the risk of burns, and fume generation is reduced by around 50% for each 10°C reduction in temperature.

Motor Vehicles: Secondhand Goods

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of demand for second-hand vehicles in the last five years.

Mr Richard Holden: Trends in the level of demand for second-hand vehicles are not routinely monitored. The National Travel Attitudes Study, a survey conducted in 2022, showed that an estimated 67% of vehicles that households in England had access to had been bought second-hand.

M4: Speed Limits

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the M4 speed limit is 60mph between Junctions 3 and 4 on the westbound carriageway.

Mr Richard Holden: This section of the M4 has dangerous air quality, above the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide of 40µg/m³. The speed restriction is in place to help address that. It is expected to improve in time, which will, in due course, allow the restriction to be removed.

Speed Limits: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on the increased use of 20mph speed limits on roads in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield.

Mr Richard Holden: The responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London (TfL) and the London boroughs.

Large Goods Vehicles: Safety

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) (Amendment) Order 2023 on the safety of (a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists.

Mr Richard Holden: After an 11-year trial, safety data indicates that the safety rate for cyclists and pedestrians with Longer Semi Trailers is better than for the average HGV. Longer Semi Trailers also reduce the amount of lorries on the road, which provides an additional safety benefit.

Railway Stations: Concrete

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with representatives from (a) Network Rail and (b) other station operators in England on the potential merits of those organisations commissioning surveys to identify any railway station ticket offices and waiting rooms which may have been constructed with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.

Huw Merriman: The Department is aware of the risk of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in Network Rail operational property - as it is a well-known building industry risk. Network Rail has a number of control measures in place through its comprehensive building inspection standards, which would identify and manage the presence of RAAC and the associated types of building defect and degradation. Network Rail’s assurance processes, undertaken by competent individuals, provide additional levels of control to identify the risks presented by RAAC. The Network Rail building asset management community has been briefed on the risks presented by RAAC on a number of occasions.

East Coast Main Line

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to steps he is taking to help improve (a) speed and (b) capacity on the East Coast Main Line.

Huw Merriman: The Integrated Rail Plan commits to upgrading and improving line speeds and capacity on the East Coast Main Line. We have provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious route-wide plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible. This IRP activity will build upon the £1.2 billion East Coast Enhancements Programme – a collection of infrastructure upgrades across the route, helping to deliver journey time, reliability and capacity improvements.

Railways: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to help create more efficient rail services across all rail operating companies in the next 12 months.

Huw Merriman: As the pandemic has changed travel habits, the Department expects train operators to use this opportunity to reassess their services to provide efficient rail timetables that respond to new passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance. Operators are also exploring opportunities to better match train capacity to demand, though more effective and efficient use of rolling stock.

Question

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) lost revenue and (b) compensation following the broken rail on the East Coast Mainline on Sunday 21 May.

Huw Merriman: The industry performance regime allows that all the costs arising from an individual incident can typically only be calculated some time – which can be weeks – after the incident. The performance payments between train operators and Network Rail (accounting for lost revenue and compensation) are made every four weeks and are aggregated, based on average lateness for the previous four-week period. The way the performance regime works means that Network Rail do not calculate payments for individual incidents.

Network Rail: Expenditure

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on Network Rail operations was on (a) operating costs, (b) traction electricity, industry costs and rates, (c) renewals, (d) enhancements and (e) all other expenditure in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 13 years.

Huw Merriman: The requested information can be found in the attached Excel document. Note for context that NR spend on the Wales and Borders route is between 4% and 5% of the GB total so far in CP6, whilst Network Rail’s Wales and Borders route makes up circa 4% of the entire GB rail network in terms of train miles in CP6.Network Rail Operations - Breakdown of expenditure (xlsx, 23.1KB)

A1 and East Coast Main Line: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Government on improvements to the (a) East Coast Main Line and (b) A1.

Huw Merriman: Officials in the Department for Transport meet regularly with their counterparts in Transport Scotland about rail improvements, including to the East Coast Main Line. Conversations are ongoing and officials will continue to engage as work progresses. There have been no recent discussions specifically about the A1 between the Department and Transport Scotland. However, the UK Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the Scottish Government to improve transport connectivity.

Railways: North East

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 April 2023 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 366, what progress his Department has made on the recommendations of the Union Connectivity Review on improving connectivity between North Wales and North West England on (a) the A55 and (b) the North Wales Coast Main Line.

Mr Richard Holden: Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill’s independent Union Connectivity Review recognised the importance of transport connectivity right across our United Kingdom. I recently visited Wales to meet stakeholders and visit a wide range of transport connectivity projects. I am committed to improving transport via all modes to ensure that opportunity is available to all in every part of our United Kingdom. My department is working collaboratively with the Welsh Government to consider Lord Hendy’s recommendations and develop options for improving transport connectivity in North Wales. The UK Government will respond to Lord Hendy’s Review as soon as possible.

A55: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 April 2023 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 366, whether he has had discussions with the Welsh Government on what steps it is taking to upgrade the A55.

Mr Richard Holden: As the member will be aware, road infrastructure in Wales, including delivering improvements to the A55, is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. The UK Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government, including in devolved areas, to improve transport.

A1: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's timeline is for the southbound carriageway of the A1 motorway (a) north and (b) south of the Hatfield Tunnel to be (i) repaired and (ii) existing defects and potholes in the road surface remedied.

Mr Richard Holden: The surfacing on the A1 motorways (M) near the Hatfield tunnel is currently under review by National Highways to ensure that the road remains safe and serviceable for all road users. The A1(M) is inspected on a weekly basis, currently on Tuesdays. During NH’s inspections it categorises all defects identified according to their severity. The most severe defects, which are a potential risk to road users, are made safe within 24 hours and permanently repaired within 28 days. Less severe defects are monitored during the weekly inspections and repaired if they deteriorate or within six months, normally alongside other planned works. This arrangement enables us to keep the roads safe whilst minimizing the disruption to road users from roadworks. All of the defects on the A1(M) in the most severe category have been repaired.

Roads: Electric Vehicles

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of heavier electric vehicles using the public highway on the durability and longevity of existing road surfaces; if he will publish details of that assessment; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Increasing volumes of electric vehicles (EVs) are likely to have minimal impacts on roads in general, including on deterioration and longevity. Vehicles have been increasing in weight for many years, driven by consumer choice and improving safety and environmental performance technologies. While some EVs are heavier than their internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents, there are many examples where EVs are lighter than the heaviest ICE vehicles currently on the market. Maximum axle weight or gross vehicle weight limits are in place to avoid excessive road wear and damage. Heavy commercial vehicles, rather than passenger vehicles, are the dominant factor determining road design and weight limits.

Roads: Ealing Central and Acton

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve safety for (a) road users and (b) pedestrians in Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

Mr Richard Holden: Local authorities should always make personal and public safety a priority as they develop and deliver their Local Transport Plans. Local knowledge is required to determine what safety measures are appropriate in individual cases, making local authorities best placed to do this. Roads in London are the responsibility of TfL and London Boroughs.

Driving Licences: Ukraine

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2023 to Question 179857 on Driving Licences: Ukraine, when he plans to respond to the consultation.

Mr Richard Holden: My Department is committed to supporting the Ukrainian community; my officials have been working at pace to consider the proposal to extend the period Ukrainians may use their driving licenses in Great Britain up to 36 months. Now the consultation has closed, officials are giving due regard to all responses and will publish the outcome in the coming weeks.

Railways: North Wales

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 April 2023 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 366, what estimate he has made of the timescale for the electrification of the north Wales Mainline.

Huw Merriman: In the Transport Decarbonisation Plan the government committed to deliver a net zero rail network by 2050. To do so we will electrify additional lines and deploy battery and hydrogen trains on lines where it makes economic and operational sense. In relation to individual railway routes, the Great British Railways Transition Team will bring forward costed decarbonisation options for Government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability. No decision has yet been taken on the North Wales Mainline.

Railways: Tickets

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of the funding provided to modernise rail ticketing and retail systems in the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review has been spent; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of that funding on services provided to passengers.

Huw Merriman: The Autumn Budget announced funding to modernise rail ticketing and retail systems. In the first year of the spending review period (2022/23) £68 million was spent. The projects funded will deliver service improvements to passengers later this year, including on digital (barcode) ticketing and PAYG rollout.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla: Voluntary Work

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken steps to retain the volunteers engaged in the Big Help Out during the 2023 Coronation.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of turning the Big Help Out initiative on 8 May 2023 into an annual occurrence.

Stuart Andrew: Volunteering is vital for society and the Government recognises this. It benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on beneficiaries and their communities. Government aims to remove barriers to getting people involved.The Big Help Out was a day of community volunteering to mark the Coronation of King Charles III, held on 8 May 2023, and was led by the Together coalition and the Shaping the Future with Volunteering group ​​to encourage people to help out in their communities.The Government provided £450,000 to support the campaign, which saw millions of people volunteering in their community. I have since met with the organisers, who are currently considering proposals to build on the legacy of the Big Help Out campaign.

Voluntary Work

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the findings of the report Time Well Spent 2023 published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations on 2 May 2023, whether she is taking steps to help improve satisfaction levels among volunteers.

Stuart Andrew: Volunteering is vital for society and the Government recognises this. It benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on beneficiaries and their communities. Government aims to remove barriers to getting people involved.Government sees the experience and satisfaction of volunteers as a key part of unlocking the benefits of volunteering. We are supporting the volunteering sector’s Vision for Volunteering initiative, which focuses on improving the volunteer experience, including an investment of £609,000.We will consider the full findings of the Time Well Spent survey when the report is published in June 2023 by NCVO.

Gambling: Regulation

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 28 of the Policy paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published on 27 April 2023, what threshold the Government plans to apply to determine the largest competitions; and whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of regulating online competitions below that threshold.

Stuart Andrew: Prize draws and competitions have grown significantly in popularity in recent years, and given they sit outside of existing regulation, it’s right that the Government should explore the potential for regulating the largest competitions of this type.Our first priority is to gather data and evidence about the size of the market for prize draws and the scale of possible gambling-related harm. We will then assess the impact and proportionality of different potential regulatory approaches as part of a consultation, including potential thresholds for regulation.

Radio and Television: Broadcasting Reception

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure the continuity of (a) terrestrial television and (b) radio broadcast services for households that (a) live in rural areas and (b) do not have (i) access to broadband and (ii) sufficient broadband connectivity.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and national commercial digital radio services.Millions of households across the UK rely on digital terrestrial television and radio broadcast services, and we expect this to continue over the next decade. This includes households in rural areas and the small number of households who do not currently have access to superfast broadband.We also recognise the crucial role that digital terrestrial television and radio broadcast services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available free-to-air to all audiences.For these reasons, the Government has legislated to secure continuity of digital terrestrial television until at least 2034 and national commercial digital radio services until 2035.As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of radio and television. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television and radio broadcast services are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households received an advance payment of Universal Credit in each of the last 12 months for which this data is available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of households with successful new claims for Universal Credit received an advance payment in each of the last 12 months for which this data is available.

Guy Opperman: Advances of Universal Credit can be made at the start of a claim, to tide people over until the end of the first monthly assessment period, and for budgeting needs. For UC households that have advances, around half have budgeting advances and half have new claim and benefit transfer advances. The information requested is provided in the attached spreadsheet. Notes for the data tables:Great Britain level figures have been provided.Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.Data for the 12month period ending on February 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.PQ108198 reports the percentage of households repaying an advance debt in August 2022.Table 1: The number of households has been rounded to the nearest 100. The proportion of households with different types of advances has been rounded to the nearest percent. The proportions have been calculated as number of households with a specific type of advance divided by the total number of households that have at least one type of advance. The sum of the different type of advances won’t match the total number as households can receive more than one type of advance.Table 2: The proportion of successful new claims that received an advance payment has been rounded to the nearest percent. Successful New Claims have been defined as those with UC payments made in their first assessment period, including those with £0 UC payments. Advance Payments made to Successful New Claims refers to New Claim and Benefit Transfer advances only.Attachment (xlsx, 163.9KB)

Vacancies: North West

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made in addressing the list of vacancies in the job market in (a) Southport and (b) the wider North West region.

Guy Opperman: In Southport, and across the North West, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and helping those in work to progress. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering a range of support including Sector Work Based Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days and job fairs. For example, to support recruitment in the run up to Eurovision, 12 successful job fairs were held across Merseyside including in the Sefton Community Learning centre, and Southport college.The North West team continue to work with local employers to deliver SWAPs in various sectors including transport, education, construction, hospitality, and healthcare, amongst others. SWAP’s deliver short vocational training linked directly to vacancies within a particular employer or in a specific sector, helping customers to learn the skills and behaviours that employers in particular industries look for.Claimants also have access to the Plan for Jobs offer, delivering a comprehensive range of support to help people back into work. Mainstream employment support is supplemented through DWP’s local Flexible Support Funded (FSF) provision, in response to needs identified within the local community, delivering tailored support to enhance employment prospects.

Jobcentres: Staff

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches in job centres have specialist disability training.

Guy Opperman: All new DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, particularly disabilities and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products.The learning provides the work coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge.Work coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition. In addition, within DWP, there are staff who undertake the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role. Staff who undertake this role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role.DEAs support Work Coaches by providing expert knowledge on how to support disabled customers, building the skills and capability of Work Coaches, and influencing employer engagement in local communities. DEA’s can also directly support customers with a health condition or disability where additional support can benefit the customer.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households applied for an advance payment of Universal Credit in each of the last 12 months for which this data is available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people and (b) children lived in households which applied for an advance payment of Universal Credit in each of the last 12 months for which this data is available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of households applying for Universal Credit applied for an advance payment in each of the last 12 months for which this data is available.

Guy Opperman: Applications for a Universal Credit advance can be made in several ways: in person, by telephone and online. To identify and collate the total number of applications made would incur disproportionate cost.

State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance Contributions

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a compensation scheme for people who paid national insurance contributions when they were aged between 14 and 15 between 1947 and 1957 who have fallen short of the qualifying years for the full state pension by two years or less.

Laura Trott: There are currently no plans to assess the merits of introducing a compensation scheme. Following the fundamental reforms of the National Insurance scheme in 1975 the law provided that only paid contributions and credits from the year in which a person reached age 16 to the year before the one in which they reached state pension age should count for the purposes of entitlement to the state pension. The Government has no plans to review the position reached by Parliament and which has been in place for over 40 years.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on Universal Credit for households claiming the (a) limited capability for work element and (b) limited capability for work and work-related activity element in the 2022-23 financial year.

Tom Pursglove: The department’s latest forecast from Spring Budget 2023 is that net expenditure on Universal Credit households receiving either the limited capability for work, and/or the limited capability for work and work-related activity, elements in the 2022-23 financial year will be £15.1bn.

Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of new claims made for (a) the limited capability for work-related activity element of Universal Credit and (b) new style Employment and Support Allowance each day for the latest month for which that data is available.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who were in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance for children have had their applications to transfer to Personal Independence Payments on turning 16 refused since April 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The number of people who were in receipt of Child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) that had their application to transfer to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) refused on turning 16, from April 2013 to October 2022, can be found on Stat-Xplore.  In particular, the requested data can be found by applying the following filters to the ‘Child DLA to PIP reassessments’ dataset: Select the following dataset ‘Child DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes by month’; andFilter for all ‘Disallowed’ outcomes in ‘PIP reassessment Outcomes’. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore; the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Universal Credit: Fraud

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has conducted an equalities impact assessment of trials using machine learning algorithms to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to publish the results of trials using machine learning algorithms to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish details of the (a) nature and (b) operation of the machine learning algorithms used in trials to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances.

Tom Pursglove: The DWP’s Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service uses data and analytics to identify claims that may warrant closer inspection (or may need additional consideration), assisting in the prevention and detection of fraud and error. It is right that we keep up with fraud in today’s digital age, so that we can prevent, detect and deter those who would try to exploit the benefit system and more importantly, improve our support for genuine claimants. However, we currently have no plans to publish details of either the (a) nature or (b) operation of the machine learning algorithms used in trials to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances. Similarly, we also have no plans to publish the results of trials using machine learning algorithms to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances. It is not in the public interest to publish, as it contains information that fraudulent actors could use to defraud the benefit system and impact the public purse adversely. We have conducted an equalities assessment of trials using machine learning algorithms to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances. The department has robust processes to ensure ethical use and impact of data is considered, which includes Equality Impact Assessments for large-scale transformative initiatives that involve personal data, aligned with data-ethics frameworks, codes of practice, and working principles for analytical communities within the department that work with personal data. The DWP’s Personal Information Charter (PIC) ensures that its customers are aware of the DWP’s use of Artificial Intelligence. Importantly, it should be noted that we do not use algorithms to make decisions regarding fraudulent claims. These are always made by humans. The Information Commissioner’s Office have indicated publicly that they are broadly supportive of the current use of AI within the welfare benefit system, based on sampling they have undertaken.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Remote Working

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on (a) IT and communications equipment, (b) chairs, desks and other furniture and (c) electronic fans, heaters and other equipment used for temperature control, to enable staff in his core Department to work from home during the financial years (i) 2020-21, (ii) 2021-22 and (iii) 2022-23.

Mike Freer: The information requested can only be obtained as a disproportionate request.

Crown Court: ICT

Sir Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to ensure a smooth rollout of the Common Platform in Crown Courts.

Mike Freer: We are already live in 67 Crown Courts with 10 remaining, and we have learnt and adjusted our approach in the ways of working with the Judiciary and CJS partners. To date 369,447 cases have been accepted onto the Common Platform, and 521,812 hearings have been managed on Common Platform in the Crown Court. We recognise introducing a new digital system and business processes is challenging and we are working with Judiciary and CJS partners to embed the changes. Common Platform has been designed for its users, incorporating their experiences and feedback at every stage. Experienced staff and Judges have been directly involved throughout the design, testing and implementation of Common Platform. Their knowledge and expertise have been instrumental in developing the system. We have a Defence Practitioners Working Group and a Judicial Working Group who have been closely involved in the design of the functionality and how it will be used. We started with discussions about what requirements users have, then mocked these up into visual images for validation with our users, and to ensure we’ve correctly interpreted their requirements. Once the designs are finalised, the functionality is developed. As soon as functionality has been developed, we have arranged demonstrations for users. We are now organising User Acceptance Testing and training, as well as opportunities for users to come and see the new functionality in order to get an idea of the look and feel of it. We are also planning to bring some pieces of functionality to early adopter courts before rolling out wider. Once new functionality has been implemented, we have a robust feedback process in place to ensure any issues are identified and resolved quickly. Feedback from Common Platform users is important for us to make implementation as smooth as possible. We have a newly established feedback process to capture concerns and suggestions from staff and this has improved the way we manage feedback and keep them directly updated on how it is being used, through a range of measures. These include a new digital form, monthly feedback webinars, and allocating senior sponsors to all regions to act as independent escalation points.

Magistrates: Advisory Bodies

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the rationale for changes made to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State’s Directions for Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace between January 2022 and March 2023.

Mike Freer: Since January 2022, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State’s Directions for Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace have been updated to reflect changes associated with the roll-out of a new recruitment process for magistrates, launched in January 2022. In March 2022, they were also updated to reflect the increase to 75 of the statutory retirement age for judicial office holders, including magistrates. Other minor updates to the Directions have been made to ensure the eligibility criteria for the magistracy are clear. As of May 2023, the Directions at https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/advisory-committees-justices-peace/ are up to date with all changes.

Ministry of Justice: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were employed by his Department to work on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Mike Freer: The requested information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Homicide: Trials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of murder trials in England and Wales that have been postponed within (a) 24 hours' notice, (b) 48 hours notice and (c) less than one week's notice in each year since 2010.

Mike Freer: A trial which will no longer take place on the date set aside for it in the court calendar is referred to as a ‘vacated’ trial. This usually happens when one or both parties is not ready to proceed and there is agreement between them that an adjournment would be in order.The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of murder which have been vacated within 24 hours, 48 hours and 1 week of the trial date since 2015.Vacated YearVacated within 24 hours of the trial dateVacated within 48 hours of the trial dateVacated within 1 week of the trial date201511262016107820176172018821620195552020203920217262022545 Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time.Information on the number of trials vacated within 24, 48 and 1 week of the trial are not available prior to 2015.Trials vacated because either the prosecution discontinued the case before the trial date or where the defendant changed their plea to guilty to the original charge have been excluded since there was no further need for a trial. If a trial date was vacated more than once in the same year it has been counted for each time.

Homicide: Trials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of individual murder trials in England and Wales that have been postponed (a) once, (b) twice (c) three times and (d) more than three times in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each year since 2010.

Mike Freer: We have interpreted your request as being for ineffective trials, which is where the trial does not commence on the due date and requires rescheduling. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a defendant or a witness or adjournment requests from either the prosecution or defence.The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each from 2015.YearIneffective onceIneffective twiceIneffective three times20151335~201614216~201713814~201812011~20195210~202027~~20218210~202211923~ The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Murder which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each from 2015.YearIneffective onceIneffective twiceIneffective three timesIneffective over three times20158~~~20169~~~201714~~~20185~~~201910~~~202011~~~202128~~~202224~~~~ Equates to a value of fewer than 5Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time.Information on the number of trials which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times are not available prior to 2015. The number of ineffective trial volumes for rape and murder offences significantly increased in 2022. This was primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action between April and September 2022.If a trial date was ineffective more than once in the same year it has been counted for each time.

Homicide: Trials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of murder trials in England and Wales that have been postponed in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed in each year since 2010.

Mike Freer: We have interpreted your request as being for ineffective trials, which is where the trial does not commence on the due date and requires rescheduling. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a defendant or a witness or adjournment requests from either the prosecution or defence. Ineffective trial volumes for rape offences and murder offences at the Crown Court from 2014 to 2022 can be found in the attached table. Information on ineffective trials broken down by offence are not available prior to 2014. The number of ineffective trial volumes for rape and murder offences significantly increased in 2022; this was primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action between April and September 2022.Volume of ineffective trials at the Crown Court  (xlsx, 17.6KB)

Prisons: Mother and Baby Units

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the operational guidance on Pregnancy, MBUs and maternal separation in women’s prisons published on 17 May 2023 was unpublished on 19 May 2023.

Damian Hinds: On 20 September 2021, the Ministry of Justice published a new Policy Framework on Pregnancy, Mother and Baby Units and Maternal Separation from Children up to the Age to Two in Women’s Prisons. This filled a gap in policy provision as identified by the Policy Review and an important part of the organisational response to the learning from the Baby A investigation. The new policy was introduced with Operational Guidance for prison staff. The Operational Guidance was published on Gov.uk on the 17 May 2023. This was removed on the 19 May 2023 after identification of an error. We will re-publish the guidance as soon as the issue is resolved.

Prisoners: Travellers

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Traveller Movement entitled Available but not Accessible, published on 27 March 2023; and whether he plans to take steps to help tackle issues described in that report affecting Gypsy, Roma, Traveller people on the prison estate.

Damian Hinds: We recently launched a Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Strategy which sets out our approach to improve outcomes for GRT people in prison or on probation. It identifies the work being undertaken across His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service to support GRT people, and focuses on how we can make improvements.The strategy has six key areas of focus. These include improving the data we capture; improving access to culturally appropriate services and purposeful activity; and strengthening our relationships with specialist third-sector organisations.A governance framework will be established to monitor progress.

Prisoners: Suicide

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides that have taken place in prisons in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

Damian Hinds: The data on self-inflicted deaths is recorded in our published Safety in Custody Statistics.The number and rates of self-inflicted deaths across the estate in the 12 months to March 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 is published in the Safety in Custody Summary table which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1153227/Safety-in-custody-summary-q4-2022-final-tables.xlsx.We do not produce official statistics on suicides. Self-inflicted deaths are any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent. This not only includes suicides but also accidental deaths as a result of the person’s own actions. This classification is used because it is not always known whether a person intended to take their own life.We are unable to answer the question on attempted suicide as we do not record this data.

Young Offender Institutions: Women

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many females were placed in youth offending estates intended for males in 2022-2023; and how many females are detained in youth offending estates intended for males as of 23 May 2023.

Damian Hinds: In 2022-23 no females were held in spaces intended as male-only, which remained the case on 23 May 2023.Girls committed into custody will be located in Secure Children's Homes, Oakhill Secure Training Centre, or Wetherby Young Offenders Institution, depending on their specific circumstances. All are mixed-gender settings, and girls may mix with boys in education and other activities, where appropriate. Youth Custody Service staff are trained to work with girls in a gender-responsive way, and regimes, services, activities, and interventions are tailored to meet their individual needs.Where girls are placed into units which previously housed boys only, significant work is done to refurbish and ensure the environment is appropriate.

Question

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time is between a case being reported where section 28 evidence is recorded and the start of trial where the evidence is presented to the court.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the average length of time between a case being reported where section 28 evidence is recorded and the start of a trial where the evidence is presented to the court.

Attorney General

Homicide: Convictions

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of defendants who were (a) arrested and (b) charged with the murder of a (i) male and (ii) female victim were eventually convicted of manslaughter in the latest period for which data is available.

Michael Tomlinson: The Home Office holds the data on the number of arrests for specific offences.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for data on charges, including data for murder and manslaughter. No information is held regarding the number of murder charges which resulted in manslaughter convictions.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Solar Power: Congleton

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that investment in solar energy generation at factory sites in Congleton constituency are incentivised by the policies of the local electricity network operator.

Graham Stuart: The Government is working closely with network companies to release network capacity and improve the connection process to reduce connection timescales, including for onsite solar generation. Ofgem has also reduced connection costs for ‘final demand’ users, such as factory sites installing onsite generation capacity below their maximum demand, by deciding that they should no longer be charged for distribution network reinforcement costs.

Energy Bills Rebate

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to ensure that persons in supported accommodation without bank accounts are able to receive payments under the Energy Bill Support Scheme.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is delivered by local authorities in Great Britain who are only able to make payments into UK current accounts. The Government has recommended throughout the scheme that any applicants who do not have a bank account open one to receive payment, such as opening a basic bank account, which are free to open. Appointees of eligible households can also apply on behalf of an applicant, using their appointee bank account details.

Energy: Hospitality Industry

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the recent impact of energy costs on businesses in the hospitality sector; and if he will make it his policy to provide additional financial support to those businesses for those purposes.

Amanda Solloway: Businesses, including the Hospitality sector, have already benefitted from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) which ended on 31 March and has provided £7 billion of support at around £35 million a day. Businesses will continue to get a discount on gas and electricity bills under the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. The HM Treasury-led review of the EBRS took account of contributions from the private sector, trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations, including the Hospitality sector. The outcome of the review informed the criteria used to determine eligibility for the EBDS, which in addition to a baseline level of support, provides a higher level of support for Trade and Energy Intensive Industries identified through an assessment of data from the Department and the Office for National Statistics.

Energy: Prices

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will require energy providers to offer consumer prices which reflect trends in the energy market.

Amanda Solloway: Domestic consumers can choose a Fixed tariff, based on the best prices available at the time, or they will move onto a Default tariff. Where they are on Default tariff their energy supplier must ensure that their prices are within the Energy Price Cap. Ofgem determines the level of the cap every three months to reflect trends in the energy market.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to bring forward additional rounds for the Cluster Sequencing for Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage programme beyond the Track 1 and Track 2 processes.

Graham Stuart: The Government has announced plans to expand Track-1 through the Track-1 expansion process and has commenced Track-2. The Government recognises the importance of improving visibility for investors, and will set out a vision for the CCUS sector that will support the UK's net zero ambitions and raise investor confidence.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to complete Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery projects originally awarded (a) Phase 1A and (b) Phase 1B grants.

Graham Stuart: The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery projects which were awarded through Phase 1A and Phase 1B grants have been completed by way of a managed closedown of the projects. All project delivery for Phases 1A and 1B was completed by the end of September 2022.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reasons his Department extended the deadline for Local Authorities to spend their Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1 grants.

Graham Stuart: A three-month extension to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1 Funding Period was made available to all Local Authorities, allowing grant spend to be incurred until the end of June 2023, if required, to maximise the outcomes of the scheme by allowing continued delivery of energy efficiency measures to tenants.

Green Homes Grant Scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of a) the number of FTE jobs needed to deliver upgrades funded by the (a) Green Homes Grants and (b) Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund; and what estimate he has made of the capacity of the industry to deliver the funded measures.

Graham Stuart: For work carried out under Government schemes, installers are required to be TrustMark registered, as well as PAS certified for energy efficiency measures and MCS certified for low carbon heating measures. According to the data held by TrustMark, the number of registered installers eligible to participate on the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme increased from around 455 when the scheme was first announced in summer 2020 to around 1496 by May 2021. In April 2023, there were 1915 TrustMark businesses across the UK which were certified to PAS or MCS standards.

Energy Bills Rebate

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the deadline for the EBSS Alternative Funding.

Amanda Solloway: The Department has communicated the schemes using a variety of methods, including Press Notices, social media, and digital resources. Government understands many EBSS Alternative Fund applicants are hard-to-reach through mainstream channels and has engaged with key stakeholder organisations who have filtered down scheme information encouraging eligible households to apply. With awareness that park home residents make up a large proportion of applicants, Government has also requested local authorities write to all park home sites in their area, further spreading information on the schemes, especially to residents without online access.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Semiconductors: Manufacturing Industries

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the National Semiconductor Strategy, published 19 May 2023, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on increasing relevant course degree provision and courses to support training for the semiconductor industry.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the National Semiconductor Strategy, published 19 May 2023, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the skills training needed for the semiconductor industry.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled National semiconductor strategy, published on 19 May 2023, what estimate the Government has made of the number of graduates that the UK semiconductor industry will need in 2030; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that that number is available.

Paul Scully: The Government recognises the importance of talent for a thriving technology sector. During the development of the National Semiconductor Strategy, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology engaged extensively with the semiconductor sector. This engagement highlighted access to skills as a barrier to growth in the sector.Industry have told us that there is a global shortage of talent for semiconductors and that we need to work together to build the right technical skills and qualifications to meet the needs of industry. To meet the growing needs of the sector, the approach needs to be holistic across the whole skills pipeline from STEM education, apprenticeships, industry-led learning and attracting talent.As set out in the recently published UK Science and Technology Framework, the government is committed to building a pipeline into STEM subjects that are core to future careers in the semiconductor sector - physics, mathematics, engineering and electronics.The National Semiconductor Strategy outlines the actions the government is taking specifically in the semiconductor sector including, amongst others:Providing support for Centres for Doctoral Training through EPSRC. Since 2017, funding from EPSRC and the Science and Technology Facilities Council has also supported over 450 PhD students to begin semiconductor related research. Over the years EPSRC has supported a number of Centres for Doctoral Training. There are currently seven active Centres for Doctoral Training funded that support semiconductor related doctoral research. These Centres for Doctoral Training will produce the next generation of internationally recognised doctoral researchers.Working to ensure that occupational standards for apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications (HTQs) and T-Levels meet the specific requirements of employers in the semiconductor sector to increase the flow of talented people into the industry.The Department for Education’s (DfE) Institute of Technology programme which has been backed by £300 million of government capital investment. We are encouraging more employers in the semiconductor industry to engage with Institute of Technology programmes to ensure that the sector’s specialisms are better served through this novel education delivery mechanism.The Government will continue to engage with industry and academia on skills requirements as we implement the vision laid out in the Strategy, including through the new UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will continue to work hand in hand with the Department for Education on this important issue.

Semiconductors: Manufacturing Industries

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the National Semiconductor Strategy, published 19 May 2023, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure semiconductor manufacturing is distributed equitably across the UK.

Paul Scully: The UK is home to significant semiconductor companies across sub-sectors, including in key parts of the supply chain such as wafer production and manufacturing tools. There are currently around 25 semiconductor manufacturing sites in the UK, distributed throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These capabilities vary in output and complexity.The UK is also home to the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult. The Catapult is a very strong example of government, industry and academia working together and it has now initiated over £160 million of projects, working with over 100 companies across the UK developing advanced electronic products. The Catapult has built an impressive record of generating industrial collaborations to commercialise its research, including through compound semiconductor manufacturing. The Catapult will expand its operations in 2023, opening UK facilities to support regional clusters developing satellite communications and future telecom networks.On Friday 19 May the Government announced its new National Semiconductor Strategy. Through the Strategy we announced an investment of up to £200 million over the years 2023-25 and up to £1 billion in the next decade.This builds upon significant support for high-tech enterprise including a £500 million per year package of support for R&D intensive businesses through changes to R&D tax credits announced in the Spring Budget and through ‘full expensing’ for companies incurring qualifying expenditure on the provision of new plant and machinery.In addition, this government has already provided funding for both research and innovation in semiconductor technology. Through Innovate UK, we have distributed £214 million of grants over the last 10 years directly to SMEs in the semiconductor sector.However, we want to do more to support businesses big and small, and in every part of the sector, to pursue opportunities within the sector that build on our proud history of innovation and strong foundations in this vital technology.We will announce plans by the autumn to further support the competitiveness of the semiconductor manufacturing sector that is critical to the UK tech ecosystem or the UK’s national security.

Prices: Social Security Benefits

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Department has identified cases where people in receipt of (a) Pension Credit, (b) Employment and Support Allowance, (c) Jobseekers' Allowance, (d) Income Support, (e) Personal Independence Payments and (f) Attendance Allowance are ineligible for social tariffs.

Sir John Whittingdale: Social tariffs are high-quality, low-cost broadband and mobile offers for those in receipt of Universal Credit as well as other means-tested benefits. Offered by a range of providers - including BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Vodafone - social tariffs are available in 99% of the UK starting at £10 per month.Eligibility criteria for social tariffs are set by individual providers. While these vary, Universal Credit is a key eligibility criteria, and a significant number also include other means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit, Employment Support Allowance, Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, Personal Independence Payments or Attendance Allowance. We do not hold data on the number of people ineligible for a social tariff with any of the 19 individual providers.However, in June 2022, following our negotiations, the major broadband and mobile operators agreed a set of public commitments to support any customer struggling to pay their bills, not just those on benefits. This includes management payment plans or allowing households, who may be mid-contract, to switch to cheaper packages without penalty. We have also been clear with operators that we expect those unable to match a competitor’s social tariff to allow customers to leave - without penalty - so that they may take up that offer.In regards to whether social tariffs overwrite existing contracts, it is our understanding that when any customer agrees a new service with their provider - including a social tariff - their existing contract is replaced.

Voice Over Internet Protocol

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with BT to ensure that consumers who do not have mobile signal in their homes will be able to contact emergency services during a power cut following the digital voice roll-out.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with telephone providers on the transition from analogue to digital landlines.

Sir John Whittingdale: Communication Providers are required by the Communications Act (2003) to ensure the continuity of access to the Public Emergency Call Service, via the telephone numbers 999 and 112. These obligations are set out in the General Conditions of Entitlement and are regulated by Ofcom.In 2018, Ofcom published guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil this General Condition in light of the industry’s decision to retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and replace it with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The guidance states that in the event of a power outage at least one solution must be available for consumers, providing access for a minimum of one hour. The solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline, such as those with no mobile phone signal. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.The Government and Ofcom regularly engage with the telecoms industry to monitor their migration process and ensure providers are taking appropriate steps to protect vulnerable consumers. In January, Minister Julia Lopez held a roundtable with the major Communications Providers to discuss how the telecommunications industry will support consumers as they transition to VoIP services.